A Past Retold
by Namikaze Kakashi
Summary: Namikaze-Uzumaki Naruto becomes the Rokudaime Hokage during the war, but what use is it to be Hokage if Konohagakure was burnt to the ground with all the villagers still inside? Kurama makes a huge sacrifice and Naruto finds herself in the past, determined to set things right and not allow her counterpart to live through the hardships she did. Fem!Naruto possible eventual Kaka/Naru
1. Chapter 1

I do not own Naruto

* * *

**Prologue - A past retold**

The battle field was littered with corpses. There was hardly enough space for a foot on solid ground.

Naruto looked around, tears freely running down her face. She and Kurama were completely depleted of chakra, but she charged Madara regardless of her situation. It was a futile attempt, but she wouldn't just give up. If there was even the smallest hope for a victory she would grab it with both hands. As expected, she was flung aside like a bothersome fly.

Madara already had control of seven of the bijuu... and he was half way with the eight.

Bee's mouth was open in a silent scream as his tailed beast was ripped from his body. Naruto's heart couldn't take the pain anymore. Bee and Gyuuki were like family to her, closer even... seeing them both in so much pain... it was too much to bear.

"Kit... We have to do something. I refuse to be sealed to that red eyed bastard."

"Kurama, you know as much as I that it's hopeless... He is simply too strong." Naruto whispered, her breath hitched , "Just look at the pain Octo-pops is in... That's going to be us in a few minutes..."

Naruto was struggling to stand up, trying to wipe the blood out of her eyes and mouth. Her long golden hair was caked in blood and mud, no longer tied up in its usual neat high pony tail... There were even chunks missing from various katon and fuuton jutsu's she'd gotten caught in. Her clothes were torn, her ninja sandals were missing...

Her legs couldn't bear her weight any more, exhaustion was setting in... She fell down to her knees just as Bee's Body fell face first into the mud.

It was over, there was no hope left.

She was the only person still breathing other than Madara.

The Uchiha was now walking toward her, a crazy grin on his face and a victorious glint in his eyes. He knew that he had won.

It was hopeless

She could do nothing.

She was going to die as well... Kurama was going to be enslaved... She had lost everything..

SMACK

Kurama smacked her across her face with one of his tails...

"**Bullshit!"** The mighty fox growled, standing to his full hight in her mind-scape.

"**Since when are you the type to give up kit? I thought it was against your Nindo? What kind of weakling have you become?"** he shouted at her, pacing up and down. Everything about the mighty beast's posture indicated his irritation. His tails were twitching, his teeth bared.

"Kurama... if you have any ideas as to how we could survive this and still save the world from his rule then I am all ears."

Naruto was sitting in the usual ankle deep water, hugging her knees, tears still running down her face... Everything she ad ever fought for was gone... Every person she had ever cared for was dead.

It was over... she had lost.

Kurama's facial features were marred by a frown.** "There is a way to stop this... but yet it would still have happened... It is hard to explain"** The fox was suddenly still, a serious look in his eyes as he looked at his host, **" There is a price... and it is incredibly risky..."**

Kurama felt sorry for his kit... and he was enraged that his brothers and sisters were enslaved. He flat out refused to share the same fate... He would fix this... Stop it from happening.

His host was still in a pitiful position, hugging herself for comfort.. He had seen that picture too often when she was younger... He would change this no matter what. He was the strongest of his siblings anyway.

He was going to save them all.

"**Hold on Naruto..." **He mumbled, but he doubted that she had heard a word he had said...** "So much for being all ears..."** he thought with a little annoyance. Here he was, making this brilliant sacrifice and she wasn't even listening to his speech.

He started with the hand seals for the technique. It was surprisingly short for such a powerful technique... and he was the only one able to do it..

He called the techniques name, felt himself get ripped in half … and passed out.

It was done.

* * *

On the battlefield, Madara had just taken hold of Naruto's hair. He forced her head back and placed his palm on her forehead. Naruto growled at him with her red eyes narrowed. Usually this would be a look that would send most cowering in fear but Madara simply smiled.

"Wouldn't let your friends die ne?" he smirked "Good job."

Naruto spit in his face. Saliva mixed with blood run down the man's cheek. He simply tugged her hair with enough force to rip some more chunks out.

Naruto closed her eyes and hissed with pain. A new tear ran down her cheek as she waited for death. She had no more strength to fight, as much as it irked her... as much as she hated the fact that she could no longer fight back or do anything to defend herself... one could not simply summon energy from no where. Even sage chakra would be of no use, everything was dead... there was nothing left to draw the chakra out of. She could no longer protect her precious people, they were all gone.

Suddenly she felt herself get ripped backward, a blinding pain seared all through her body, and she passed out.

* * *

Kakashi was standing in front of the memorial stone like he usually did. He was lost in the memories of his old team... Team Minato, and all of the other comrades who's names were engraved on the stone.

He had already been standing there for an hour, and he would probably stand there for an hour longer. There was no where particularly important that he had to be, not that it really mattered, he wouldn't show up anyway.

Suddenly there was a shift in the atmosphere, he had felt it once before, this evil presence, this pressure...

It was close... He was about to bolt to the Hokage... Did something happen to his sensei's legacy?

Before he could move there was a loud bang, not unlike dozens of explosion notes going of simultaneously, yet it had the same feeling as the way lightning causes thunder by the rapid expansion of air.

It came from the direction of the training posts. He turned his head to look, his posture completely on guard, sharingan exposed, kunai in each hand... If this was what he feared, there would be no holding back.

There, right in front of the stumps, a crater had formed... but that was not the strange part. The crater was created when a girl suddenly appeared out of thin air about twenty feet off the ground and slammed into the earth with a force that could not be explained by normal means. She hit the ground so hard it was forced to ripple outward... it was an even bigger crater than the great Tsunade could create with one of her chakra enhanced punches.

He approached the scene cautiously, keeping on full alert.

He was sure ANBU would be here soon, but it was his duty to check it out first.

The girl was in the middle of the crater, limbs twisted in awkward angles. Age, early to mid twenties. Ninja attire. Konoha forehead protector on her right forearm... "_Wait... Konoha?_" Kakashi's mental study of the female was interrupted by confusion. He had never seen the girl before, and he was quite sure he had seen all of Konoha's ninja at some point. Was she a comrade? Or was she a spy? It would be a good ploy... sending an injured female.

She was completely unconscious.

He approached her position, hyper alert of his surroundings. This could very well be a trap... but how had the enemies gotten inside the barrier?

He checked her vitals... She wasn't breathing, heartbeat failing, completely covered in blood...Spy or not, she was going to die if he didn't do something. She could be worth some information even if she was a spy...

Kakashi quickly started preforming first aid but it wasn't working... Where were the ANBU?

He couldn't waste any more time, her heart had stopped completely. He slung his prisoner over his shoulder and preformed a couple of shunshin to reach the hospital.

On the way there he realised that no-one was acting strangely, ANBU was stationed at their normal spots, their masks following his progress over the roof tops. Some started following him, but no-one was heading to the scene... Had they not felt it? Did they not hear it?

There was no time to think about an explanation. The female in his arms required medical attention ASAP.

"_Please let me make it in time..._" He didn't know why it was so important for the kunoichi to survive... its not like he knew her. He simply had a gut feeling that it was very important. Maybe it was because she appeared when he was thinking about Rin and Obito?

He finally reached the hospital, he pulsed his chakra to let them know he was coming with an emergency... no more than 40 seconds could have passed since he started his journey but he was completely out of breath and chakra... shunshin was definitely not meant to be used so many times consecutively... over such a big distance.

He rushed through the double doors.

"We need help here! Kunoichi seriously injured, no pulse, first aid attempted and failed!" he shouted.

Nurses and Med-nins rushed to meet him, a hospital bed seemed to appear out of no where and within 5 seconds they where wheeling the kunoichi down the corridor, two med-nins standing on the railings, green healing chakra already working on the girls heart and lungs.

An ANBU with a Cat mask moved forward, now standing next to Kakashi...

"What happened, Senpai?" he asked his former captain.

"That's what I'd like to know..." Kakashi replied, still breathing a bit harshly.

* * *

A.N.

Hey guys, this is my first time writing a fanfiction... Please review, I would like to know what you think and all :)

Regards

Namikaze Kakashi


	2. Chapter 2

I do not own Naruto

**A past retold - Chapter 1**

* * *

Naruto slowly woke up. It took her a while to realize she was in her mind-scape. Her brain seemed to be working extra slow...

What was going on?

"**Finally awake brat?"**

"Kurama?"

Naruto was lying eagle spread in the water of her mind-scape. She turned her head to look at her fried, the one she shared a body with...

"You look small."

"**Excuse me?"**

"Did you shrink, Kurama?"

The fox snarled. **"You are trying my patience brat..."**

Kurama was growling at her... he hadn't done that in a while...

"Are you ok?"

"**...No... urg, just listen up kit... what do you remember?"**

"Well..." Naruto started flashing through memories... they got worse as time went on... she was crying again... she never cried... just comes to show how bad the things that she remembered were...

"Dead"... she whimpered, her blue eyes wide. "They are all... dead". Then she turned her blue, heartbroken gaze toward her partner, fear evident in the orbs that used to host so much joy and mischief. Now they simply seemed defeated.

"Why aren't we dead?... wait...we are aren't we?" her breath hitched and she looked away. "What a sucky afterlife... a sewer"

"**You aren't dead idiot, and nor am I. I managed to get us a second chance..."**

Kurama really looked smaller than usual... Naruto walked up to him, climbed onto his head and sat down... then started scratching his ears. It was something she had always wanted to try...

"**Would you stop distracting me and just listen?"**

"I am listening Kurama, go for it."

Kurama couldn't help but think of the last time his host was "all ears"... yeah right

"**We aren't dead."**

"I don't see how that's possible.."

"**Would you just SIT STILL and SHUT UP!?"**

"... OK, gees... no need to shout" Naruto replied, slightly surprised at the irritated fox... should he be irritated if he was dead? Although it certainly was a thing worth being irritated about...

The giant fox seemed to need to get is thoughts in order. He shifted his weight around and mover his tails into a more comfortable position before he took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He lowered his head onto his front paws.

"**I have sent us into the past."**

The blond girl currently residing atop his head stilled.

"Don't joke about the impossible Kurama. I am not in the mood for a prank like this."

"**It's not a prank."**

"It's not possible and you know it."

"**It may not be possible for you fur-less monkeys, but it is possible for us greater beings."** The fox replied with something akin to a smirk on his furry features.

"Explain." Naruto asked, still slowly scratching behind the greatest of the bijuu's ears.

"**I'll explain it in a way your primitive mind can understand." **The beast started, wincing a bit as said primitive being pulled at some sensitive hairs by his ears, but widening his smirk.

"**I performed a jutsu that can only be performed by a bijuu. In essence, I sacrificed half my chakra in order to perform it. In return for I, and therefore you, were sent back in time seven years. However, as I mentioned before, this is a bijuu technique. Not meant to be performed by humans. And therefore there was a side affect. In order to send you back in time, you aged the amount of years that we travelled back... " **The fox opened one eye to try see his hosts' reaction **" Also, this is not your past, but one that is similar enough." **He added, but he doubted that the blond heard the last part.

"That means that I am in the past... I can make sure that everyone is ready... I can...wait... seven years? Are you telling me that I am..." The blond used her fingers a bit for the simple math but eventually she reached the answer. "TWENTY-FOUR!"

* * *

"Oh kami no..." was all Naruto could think as she woke up. Of course, the skilled jōnin

sensor would be able to tell, but to the average outside viewer, there was no change in her breathing, no twitch of her eyelids. It was a skill necessary for all shinobi to master, one could never be to sure where you woke up. There was the off chance that you had been captured by an enemy, in which case you had to be fully aware of the situation and able to think up an escape strategy in seconds.

Naruto however, knew that her situation was a lot worse... She was unmistakably … in an hospital.

Even without her keen sense of smell, she would have been able to detect the strange mixture of scents that hung around any hospital. The linger of blood, both old and fresh. The unmistakable stench of death and decay. The unholy amounts of caffeine that the staff consume constantly. The disgusting smell of hospital food...

Naruto, like most shinobi, hated the hospital. Being confined to a bed, stuck in a plain white room and not being able to do anything about your situation but wait it out... It was hell.

The blond thought about what she had just learned from Kurama. She was in the past... She could stop the war before it began...

Naruto opened her eyes and looked at the white ceiling. The past... such a big concept. She tried to sit up but realised that she was restrained to her bed.

"What the..."

"**Think about it brat, you appeared from no where, in the middle of a ninja village... of course they are going to see you as a threat."**

"Huh, I guess you're right..." The kunoichi replied, trying to get in a more comfortable position without straining her restrictions.

As Naruto was coming to terms with the big change and the huge weight now on her shoulders, a nurse walked in. She was reading something on her clipboard and only looked up once she was in front of Naruto's bed. Her eyes widened when she realised her patient was awake.

"Good morning Miss, how are you feeling?" she asked, rushing over to check the machines next to Naruto's bed.

"Good enough thanx... could you please tell me the date?"

The nurse responded, then ran off to go get the doctor.

Her past self should be ten now...Naruto calculated.

After a few minutes the doctor arrived. He checked her over and informed her that she would be fine but had to rest for two more weeks.

As the doctor left, the Hokage walked in.

Naruto's eyes widened.

"Jiji..." She whispered... She couldn't stop a tear from running down the side of her face... He was alive again... alive and healthy. Solid proof that she was truly in the past. He looked the same as she remembered him, wearing his Hokage robes and hat. She couldn't be happier to see the old man. She remembered his death, his funeral... it would happen differently this time around.

The Sandaime watched the play of emotions across the strange girl's face. He knew that she was no Konoha shinobi but she was showing a lot of emotions for a spy. He closed the door behind him.

"Good morning." he greeted the girl. Taking a seat at the side of her bed. She looked at him with tear filled eyes.

"Hi." She replied, a small, sad smile on her lips. She seemed to be studying his face quite intently.

"My name is Sarutobi Hiruzen, Sandaime Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato." He introduced himself. Perhaps the girl had confused him with someone else to look at him with so much familiarity.

"I know." She replied, grinning so wide it threatened to split her face.

"Who are you?" he asked. It may be that he had met the girl before... it was possible that he forgot... he was getting on in years... but she was definitely not one of his shinobi. Perhaps he had met her on a mission? That didn't explain the hitai-ate though...

"First, may I ask that you remove your guards?" She asked, letting her eyes drift to the various places that his ANBU were hiding.

She was skilled, not many would be able to detect them when they were making an effort to hide.

"Why would I leave myself unprotected? You may know who I am, but I have no idea whatsoever who you are."

"Jiji..." The girl said again, her smile fading... like she was hurt that he didn't know who she was. Then she moved her gaze to the ceiling and spoke in a soft voice. "There are many trees in the forest, and each tree has many leaves. A tree can not live without its leaves, just as a forest does not exist without it's trees."

The Sandaime couldn't believe what he was hearing. This code was devised years ago, and under the strictest of security levels. Not even his advisers knew about it...

The girl closed her eyes and seemed to tense a bit as if she were in pain. "However, a tree still loses its leaves in winter, and a forest becomes like a graveyard..." The mysterious girl continued, a fresh tear now running past her cheek and her voice a little unstable.

"But when the spring returns, so does the fire of life, burning strong in the new green leaves." She finished, turning her gaze back at him. It was a simple code, but that was also what made it powerful.

Suddenly Hiruzen flicked his fingers for the guards to leave. He stood up and placed security and privacy seals all over the room. Even if the girl was a bit of a threat, he was the Hokage, he could protect himself, he didn't really need the guards.

"Where did you learn that code" He asked harshly. "Who are you?"

The girl smiled sadly again. "My name is Namikaze-Uzumaki Naruto, Rokudaime Hokage of Konohagakure no sato. Daughter of Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina."

The third fell back in his seat, completely shocked and confused.

"What?"

The girl chuckled at his expression, "I was born in Konoha ten years ago, according to the year the nurse gave me just now." she said. "I grew up and orphan and eventually graduated dead last from the academy..."

"But..." He tried to interrupt, but the girl gave him a pointed look

"I am only going to explain this once old man, you can ask questions later." She stated rather harshly.

He nodded his head once and she continued.

"I was placed in a genin team with Uchiha Sasuke and Haruno Sakura. Top boy and girl of my year. We were placed under Hatake Kakashi as team seven."

Naruto told him everything. She explained the Rookie Nine as they became known, and the Konoha Twelve. She told him about Sasuke and how he betrayed Konoha. She mentioned to him how Tsunade became the Godaime Hokage. She spoke about Kyuubi and how his name was Kurama. She informed him that there would be a forth great ninja war, and she described to him how completely and utterly they had lost everything. How she had become Hokage, and how Konoha was burnt to the ground, with all her citizens still inside.

"I failed as a Hokage... I couldn't keep the will of fire alive. But I came back to make sure that it does not happen again."

"How did you come back though? Time travel is not possible."

"Kurama explained it to me in simple terms, I was never the smart type, but I will try explain it to you as best I can." The blond fidgeted a bit and eventually turned her gaze back to the ceiling, a frown on her brow.

"The basics of space-time ninjutsu applies here... I know you know how it works, my dad told me you helped him with Hiraishin... So you know that stepping back is impossible, however, stepping sideways is not quite so hard to do. It requires some rule bending though... technically I have not moved backward in time, but rather sideways, to an alternate path that could have happened... So I'm in the past, but not completely my own past... I think" she explained. The girl seemed to be getting confused as she went on...

"Apparently there will be something here that is different from where I came from, but the rest should be the same. It is not exactly a well known technique... Kurama just knew how to do it coz' his dad spoke of it once... well, not really dad... I guess you know him as the Sage of the Six paths... anyway...the point is I am here. Also, the jutsu aged me the same amount of years that I moved "back" as a payment of sort... people are not meant to do this, it's sort of a fail safe so that people do not travel back too far I guess... Also, Kurama sacrificed his Yin chakra." She finished rather lamely.

She turned her gaze to the Sandaime again, a serious look in her eyes. "Look I know I can't explain it properly, and that you probably don't believe me... but I can do the rasengan and I completed it. I would show you but," She looked at her restraints with distaste. "I can't. I do however have something else that might help. It was destroyed at one point but I put it back together. Look at my necklace, you should recognise it."

The Sandaime studied the girl intently. It was true that she did look a great deal like Minato, with his ice blue eyes and golden hair. Her hair was still quite matted with dirt and dried blood but he could see some blond where the nurses tried to clean it. She also had a lot of Kushina in her with the way she talked and the shape of her face.

Her story was too complicated for a spy, they usually have easy and believable stories, those that won't attract attention.

She also knew way too much about the secrets of Konoha... things that only the Hokage should know.

He wanted to believe her... but time travel was a big pill to swallow. He stood up and moved toward her bed. He looked into her eyes again. She did not seem to be lying... her expression was much too open for that. Then he tugged at the string around her neck and looked at the pendant around it. The aged Hokage felt his eyes widen. There was no mistaking that it had once been Tsunade's necklace, the Shodai's charm, but it was not in the state that he had last seen it. There were cracks all throughout the green gem, and it seemed to be sticking together with a small seal that was placed on one of the shards.

The Sandaime moved his fingers into the appropriate seals and released her constraints with a soft "Kai".

The girl, Naruto, smiled at him and sat up, stretching her muscles.

"Thanx Jiji! Now I just need to find out what's different around here!"

"Oh I think I can help you there, Rokudaime." He replied

"Really?" She asked, bouncing in her bed. "How could you know what's different from my time and yours? You have not seen my time." She stated, looking a bit confused.

Sarutobi smiled, "Uzumaki Naruto" He started with a twinkle in his eyes, "is a boy." He said, watching the complete dumbstruck look on the time travellers face. He couldn't help but chuckle a bit as she came to terms with

"I'm a boy?" The Rokudaime eventually asked, her face still showing complete disbelief.

"Your counter part is a boy my dear, you are still very much female." Hiruzen stated, once again puffing on his ever present pipe.

"A boy huh?" The blond repeated again, but this time with a small grin. "I wonder how much that will affect our team dynamics..." she said, her grin growing wider.

Hiruzen frowned.

"They are not your team, Naruto-chan. They are Naruto-kun's team." he said slowly, a little worry in his voice.

"I know that Jiji, but we are the same person are we not?"

"No Naruto-chan, you are going to have to make your own life here, not live Naruto-kun's for him." Hiruzen replied, his frown deepening.

"I won't live his life for him, Sandaime. I am simply interested how Sasuke-teme is going to tie in with Naruto-kun." Naruto stated.

The Sandaime was worried about how Naruto was going to cope with the fact that her friends from the past were not their counter parts, but simply ten year old brats still attending the academy. He would have a talk about it with her later though, for now they had more important things to discuss.

"Naruto-chan" Hiruzen started after a while. "We are going to need to start working on your cover identity. I say cover here but in reality this is going to be your actual identity from now on, you will never be Uzumaki Naruto again."

"Yeah I know. I have a few ideas on that too." The blond replied with an ever present smile.

* * *

It had been three days since Naruto woke up in the hospital, and nearly two weeks since she arrived in Konoha. Currently the time traveller was walking around Konoha, buying supplies for her new apartment. She was Uzumaki Natsumi, long lost sister of Uzumaki Kushina. She kept her surname, as it gave her a good excuse to get close to her counter part, and Uzumaki was a lot easier to explain than Namikaze. She had also turned her hair the Uzumaki-red by placing a small seal at the base of her neck. It was a lot more effective than dye or henge, it was permanent, and it made her look all the more like an Uzumaki. The fact that she was basically the splitting image of her mother also helped her guise.

Her story was simple. She had escaped the destruction of Uzushiogakure just like her sister, but in the confusion of the falling of the village and the fleeing of so many others, they had lost each other and believed each other dead. It was by pure coincidence that Jiraiya of the sannin found her, a simple wondering orphan, on one of his travels. He had then brought her back to Konoha a few days before Naruto's birth and on the night of the boy's birth, Namikaze Minato had split the Kyuubi's chakra between his son and his wife's younger sister.

After this she had left the village in order train in using the kyuubi's chakra without endangering the village. Her status as a jinchuuriki was also kept a secret for her safety. The fact that the villagers found out about Naruto and not her was explained by the fact that no one knew she existed, she had only been in town a few days, and had left straight after the destruction that the demon fox caused. Also, the fact that Konoha had two jinchuuriki would have caused a power imbalance between the five great nations and Konoha simply could not deal with the threat of war after a bijuu attack.

The new red head was wearing a standard black Konoha jōnin pants taped at the bottom with standard white tape and on her feet she wore standard black shinobi sandals. She wore a burnt-orange tank top over her fishnet style chain mail vest that could be seen extending half way down her left arm. She also wore black fingerless gloves with sturdy metal plates on the back of her hands. Over all of this she wore the standard Konoha jōnin vest. The lower half of her face was covered with a black scarf to hide her whiskered cheeks and her hair was done in her usual neat, high pony tail. Her hitai-ate was proudly displayed on her forehead. She wanted to wear her allied nations hitai-ate on her right shoulder, but it would simply cause too many dangerous questions to arise.

She still had to come to terms with suddenly being seven years older. Her hips were wider and her bust bigger. Her facial features were also a bit sharper and all the baby fat gone. Her hair had grown as well. It had brushed the back of her calves once she had gotten the time to wash all the blood and gore out of it, but she cut it back to waist length. As much as it reminded her of her mother's long hair, it simply was not practical. She was also a bit taller than she remembered being. All in all it took some getting used to. She used to have a bit of a boyish figure, with hardly any curves. Suddenly having them was a bit uncomfortable, but she liked it.

The villagers and Ninja were still very much unaware of who and what she was, there would be a council meeting later to inform the council members . There would, however, be no announcement of who or what she was to the public. Both Natsumi and the Sandaime agreed that it would be best for her to just fall in with the workings of the village in order to attract less attention to her. The higher ranking shinobi would of course be informed of who she was in term of Uzumaki and her status as a host would only be known to a select few of the elite, but it would be declared an S-rank secret just like Naruto was supposed to be.

Being unknown was quite different for Natsumi. She walked around the village doing as she pleased and no one looked at her with the admiration they would bestow on their Hokage, nor did they look at her with those hate filled eyes as they used to before she had proven herself. Shopping was actually turning out to be quite enjoyable at this rate. The last time she had been able to simply walk around in a village was before Jiraiya had died. After that there had been the training with the toads, the Pain attack... the war. In fact, all the hidden villages had been destroyed in the war.

Natsumi closed her eyes and took a deep, slow breath through her nose, a small smile on her lips as the tasted the scents in the air and took in the sounds that came along with a village. She could smell various scents around her; the smell of sweat from the hard working civilians producing their products for sale, the slight hint of perfume from a council-woman nearby, the amazing flavours of the food produced in the various stalls that could be found around her. She could hear villages walking around at a relaxed pace, running errands and engaging in conversation with one another, their voices friendly and their tones relaxed. Slightly further away she could hear some young children playing in a nearby park, their innocent laughter ringing like small bells in the distance, the patter of their feet still so uncoordinated and slightly ungraceful as they ran around engaged in some game that captivated their imagination. She could practically feel peace floating around the place, but the dark undertone of a ninja village was ever-present, a reminder that many people that lived here were trained to kill.

Along with the scents and sounds of the civilian lifestyle she could smell and hear the shinobi influence in the background. The almost unnoticeable footfalls of the shadows leaping across the rooftops causing a slight displacement in the air, the clash of a kunai somewhere in a training ground and the distinctive sound of a sensei lecturing his genin subordinates as they carried out some D-rank mission that they obviously believed was not worth their time. She could fragrance of the "scentless" soap that shinobi used to reduce their natural scent, the whiff of well oiled weapons, the slight tang of blood and sweat spilled by the silent protectors every day as they perfected their arts.

Natsumi's smile widened until it threatened splitting her face in two, the sheer joy she felt from experiencing the simple lifestyle of Konoha without the threat of war was overwhelming. This was her home, it was whole again and she was not going to let it fall from it's peaceful state.

The Time traveller continued her shopping for an hour or so more, then she created a clone to deliver her purchases back to her apartment and started heading toward the Hokage tower. She still had some things to discuss with the ageing, current Hokage.

She walked into his office the way she always used to, a big smile on her face and a slight bounce to her step, the secretary desperately trying to apologise to the Sandaime. Truly it was quite nostalgic.

"Jiji!" She greeted the professor, the man known as 'The God of Shinobi'.

"Ah" The ageing legend exclaimed, looking at the future Rokudaime Hokage over his piles of paperwork, a small smile on his features and a barely audible sigh of relief. He finally found a good reason to take a break from the mind numbing paper work. "Natsumi-chan".

A few minutes later they were both seated with tea and cookies provided by the secretary. All ANBU now stationed outside the the office instead of inside and with privacy seals in place they were finally ready to discuss some more important matters.

"Natsumi-chan," Hiruzen started, looking at the young woman in question, now blowing the steam off of her tea, her red scarf lowered around her neck, her whiskers clearly visible. "We should discuss how we are going to go about this. I will subtly bring up the fact that Naruto-kun is not the only jinchuuriki Konoha has in the meeting later today. After that you must be prepared for the uprising that surely will follow."

Natsumi crinkled her nose at the idea of the meeting, Hiruzen shared her distaste as it would most likely be a tedious affair involving a lot of arguments and headaches.

"On to other matters," the Hokage continued, bringing his own tea to his lips, taking a small sip. "We will need to bring more people into this secret for it to work, we can not change the future on our own without a lot of people getting suspicious."

"Yeah... I guess." Natsumi allowed, her eyes wondering around the office. "We should probably tell Ero-sennin and Tsunade-baa-chan..."

"May I suggest Nara Shikaku as well?"

"Shikamaru's dad?" The time traveller asked, raising one dainty red eyebrow.

"Indeed," Sarutobi stated, nodding his head in thought. "I do not believe we would be able to hide this from him for very long, and his strategic mind would be a great help."

"Hmm, ok... I would like to tell Naruto-kun as well, once he is old enough and all... when he becomes chuunin or something..."

"Are you sure that is wise?"

"He has been lied to enough already." The Uzumaki declared, her eyes suddenly narrowed in a way that reminded Sarutobi a lot of her father.

"Very well," Sarutobi allowed. "But lets leave it until he needs to know, or until he becomes a jōnin."

"Fine. But since we are on the topic now I think we should discuss Naruto-kun." The blond-turned-redhead was suddenly very serious.

"What would you like to discuss exactly?" Hiruzen asked as he sipped his tea.

"I am going to adopt him." She stated, iron in her voice.

"I will see what I can do but..." Sarutobi began...

"No buts! I will not have Naruto-kun grow up the way I did..."

"Now now Natsumi-chan, I know he has a difficult childhood but the council will not allow one jinchuuriki to adopt another, especially since you are not well known, they may think that you will influence the boy's loyalty..."

" I don't give a damn what the council thinks, Sandaime-sama...he isn't having a "difficult" childhood... he is living in hell at the moment! And I will be informing him about his parents.."

"Natsumi that will only put him in danger..."

"More than he is at the moment?" the kunoichi asked, her glare strong enough to make the God of shinobi back off. "Do you have any idea what is going through his head every day?" She asked, but carried on without allowing for an answer. "He has no idea why the village hates him, but he puts a smile on his face in any case. He doesn't know why the instructors at the academy always kicks him out, or why the kids his own age won't associate with him. He doesn't think anybody cares about him at all and he is quite nearly completely right." She held up her hand to stop the old man from interfering. "Sure, you talk to him more than the average person Sandaime, but every time you do even you can not stop the shadow from crossing your face every time he reminds you of Minato or Kushina... And every single time he asks you about his parents you cannot help but lower your head in shame, and tell him they died during the attack. Do you know how many times I thought you were simply lying to me? That you just didn't want to tell me that my parents hated me just like everyone else!?" Natsumi yelled. The silence that followed her outburst was quite nearly deafening before she controlled herself enough to continue in a level tone. "He deserves to know exactly what happened that night. He deserves to know exactly who his parents were. I'll make sure that he understands the implications, and that he does not spread the information."

There was another moment of silence.

"Alright, but I request that you do not yet inform him about Minato's status as the Yondaime until he has graduated."

"Fine" The kunoichi uttered as she tried to get her emotions under control. They had been all over the place since she had traveled back in time.

"It will take some time for me to arrange all of this, I ask that you do not approach Naruto-kun until I have spoken to the council."

* * *

Natsumi walked out of the office a few hours later, having cleared up a few more details about the future and how they were going to handle things. The next step was to wait until the Hokage had that meeting with the council.

The red head took a deep breath, wondering what she was going to do now. Going for a bowl of ramen at Ichiraku sounded like a really good idea.

As she walked the familiar rout to one of her favourite places in Konoha when she heard the Academy bell ring, signalling the end of classes. The time traveler simply could not help herself, she had to go see everybody.

Natsumi quickly hid herself in one of the trees surrounding the academy and waited.

A few seconds later the doors opened and children came gushing out, ecstatic about their new found freedom, it didn't take long before Natsumi could see some familiar faces in the crowd, running and laughing.

Sakura's pink hair stood out. Her hair was growing out past her shoulders, her frame skinny and her eye's sparkling as she looked at a young boy with raven hair. Ino was also there, just as skinny as Sakura, squealing something at the same boy. Sasuke was glaring at the world, closely followed by a horde of fan-girls which, of course, included both Sakura and Ino Kiba was running around with Akamaru, who was so tiny he had trouble not tripping over his o1wn paws. Then there was Shikamaru strolling out last, hands in his pockets, looking at the sky. Chouji accompanied his best friend, munching chips as he went. Hinata was at the back, eyes looking at the floor as she walked to the branch member there to pick her up today. Shino was also there, blending in with the crowd. The very last person to walk out was a young boy with shocking golden hair spiked in every direction. He was small for his age, his shorts and t-shirt crumpled and dirty. He was looking back into the building, screaming something about stupid academy instructors.

Natsumi took in the whole scene... but it was all wrong. These were not her friends. These children were not the hardened and scared Ninjas that stood by her side as she fought a war. These were not the people that had acknowledged her, encouraged her, shared a bowl of ramen with her...taken a kunai for her... these children were nothing but … children.

Then it hit her. She was alone. She may be here, where everyone was alive. But they were not her precious people. They were dead, and nothing could change that. She was the only one who was still alive. She would never again hear her Shikamaru mutter "troublesome" … She would never again share a packet of chips with Chouji or have a heated argument with Kiba. ..Sakura would never again hit her head when she was being stupid... Her and Sasuke would never again be the rivals they once were, the best friends they became...

Natsumi fled the scene just as tears were beginning to build up in her blue orbs, but she did not let them fall. She was not really paying attention where she was going, but before she knew it she was standing in front of the memorial stone in a very familiar training ground, looking at the list of hero's carved into the black marble. There were a lot less names than she remembered and a lot more open space available to still be filled. She fell to her knees in despair as the first tears escaped her eyes and started to dampen her scarf. Her eyes were wide and almost fearful as she took in the sight before her and the solidarity of her situation sunk in. She buried her face in her hands and wept. Their names may not have been carved in the stone,but they were all still dead.

After a few hours the time traveling kunoichi was still hunched in front of the black stone, her face still covered by her hands even though her tears had long since dried. Slowly she moved to her feet, rubbing her eyes with her palms, her lips formed in a grim line behind her bright red scarf. She raised her head and moved her hands away from her face, pure determination evident in her sharp blue gaze as she stared once more at the open space on the marble monument. It was at this time that she swore, this time, their names would not be taking up the spaces available.

* * *

**A.N.**

**Ok guys, done for now, please let me know what you thing, constructive criticism is very welcome :)**

**Namikaze Kakashi**


	3. Chapter 3

**I do not own Naruto.**

**A Past Retold: Chapter 2**

* * *

It was early morning in the land of fire, and the sun was just starting to peak over the tall walls surrounding the magnificent village hidden in the leaves. The Hokage mountain was bathed in its golden light as the birds started chirping and the villagers started stirring. A sliver of sunlight also entered a dingy apartment window, falling on a head of messy golden locks peaking out from under a thick blanket. The bundle beneath it stirred slightly, emitting soft snoring sounds.

The room was a mess. There was dirty laundry spread out all over the floor, a surprising amount of it in various shades of orange. Empty instant ramen cups were littered around the apartment on almost every surface the place had to offer, on the floor, on the kitchen table, in the sink... even on the bed where the lump was still gently moving up and down accompanied with peaceful breathing noises. One could even spot more that a few cockroaches scurrying around, over and under the mayhem that was the floor.

Suddenly there was a ear-splitting ring as an alarm went off somewhere in the confines of chaotic living space. The blond bundle stirred again before a small child-sized hand wormed itself out from under the covers and blindly started feeling around for the source of the commotion. It started it's search slowly and clumsy at first, but as the annoying sound kept blaring through the apartment, the hand got more and more frustrated, moving faster and flinging garbage around before the bundle it hailed from suddenly lunged and a small boy escaped from the warm burrow he had constructed through his sleep.

His hair was a mess of sharp golden spikes, his face rounded by baby fat. The boy's chubby cheeks had three whisker-like lines on each of them, giving him a fox-like appearance. His cerulean eyes were narrowed with annoyance but still quite dull with sleep. The child fumbled around a bit before finding the noise emitting device and in an almost aggressive manner, switched it off.

Naruto yawned and stretched, trying to rid his mind of the sleep that was still clouding his thoughts. He had been having such a nice sleep before that stupid alarm had gone off and ruined it all.

Slowly he got to his feet and started trudging through the ankle deep mayhem on his floor towards his small fridge, rubbing his eyes with the palms of his small hands as he went. He was wearing an overly large old brown T-shirt that came to about his knees and had some holes in it. It was so stretched out that the neck of his shirt fell over one of his shoulders.

Finally he reached his destination, after some curses and stumbling that came from stepping on something sharp or particularly gooey. He opened his small fridge , grabbed the milk and drank a few gulps straight from the carton. Then he had a quick shower, hunted around for something suitable and orange to wear, and headed out to the academy.

* * *

It was still quite early but most people were already out and going about their normal morning routines. Ninjas were training or heading out for an early start on a mission, villagers were setting up stalls and rushing to their places of employment. Some house wives were already flapping their dusting cloths out various windows as they went about their cleaning.

Naruto walked with his usual wide grin on his face, eyes squinted and almost shut so that he wouldn't see the angry glares thrown at him. He really did not understand what the deal was with everybody or what he had done that was so wrong... It was also not worth the trouble to ask someone, their glares would simply intensify, like him not knowing was even worse than whatever he did. Some people had even spat at him, growled at him, shouted at him and very often thrown things at him. Therefore instead of paying attention to their hateful eyes, he simply ignored it. One day he would be Hokage and they would all look at him with those kind eyes and smiles as they did when they saw the old man. He would even make a rule that people were not allowed to be so mean to other people.

A few hours later, Naruto was slouching in his seat, with his palm cupping his cheek and his elbow resting on his desk His eyes were drifting shut, bored out of his mind with the dull facts that Iruka-sensei was lecturing about. Like really, why did he have to know the origins of the shuriken? As long as he knew how to throw the metallic stars at his targets, he was sorted in that department. Knowing where the stuff came from was just useless information that he did not need to fill his brain with. Why couldn't they just learn how to kick ass? That was much more useful.

The bored blond peaked through his one half open eye, looking around at his class mates. Shikamaru was snoring a few seats away from him without a care in the world. Chouji was seated next to his sleeping friend, slowly munching away at a bag of chips, his eyes dull. The amount of time it was taking him to open them after every blink was slowly but steadily increasing.

Kiba was having a deep discussion with Akamaru, not paying even a shred of attention to the lecture. Hinata was quietly sitting near the back of the class, not really standing out at all. Ino was staring dreamily at Sasuke who was sitting a few seats in front of her. The bastard himself was just brooding about something, most likely not hearing a word about what was going on either. Sakura was dutifully taking notes, but shooting hopeful glances at Sasuke every few seconds. Shino was blending in with the background near the back of the class...

Everybody was bored out of their minds, no doubt about it. Kids were simply not meant to sit still for such a long amount of time.

Suddenly there was a spark in the infamous prankster's open eye. A mischievous grin slowly making its way across his features.

Quickly wiping any trace of his devious thinking from his face, Naruto raised his hand.

"Yes, Naruto?" Iruka-sensei stopped his lecture, looking up from the text book in his hand.

"May I please go to the bathroom, Sensei?" The blond asked, his voice the sound of pure innocence. Really this should have tipped the scar nosed teacher off. Nevertheless, he gave the blond permission and continued boring his class half to death. There really was no way to enhance a shuriken history lecture, but it had to be taught. The teacher was rather bored himself in fact.

A few moments later there was a commotion down the hallway.

"What the...?" Iruka thought as he heard some of his colleges arguing down the hall and the sound of a lot of things falling and a cat yowling. The spiky haired chuunin instructor sighed and placed his text book on his desk.

"Ok class," He announced. "Self study until I return. If I so much as hear a peep out of this room while I am away it will mean detention."

There was a chorus of "Hai"'s from his more diligent students, while a few of the others stirred slightly in their sleep. He gave another mighty sigh and closed the door behind him.

As soon as the man left, Naruto tumbled in through the window, some twigs and leaves stuck in his hair, his clothes in a more rumpled state as they were before. All of the awake students watched as he snuck over to the teacher's desk in the front of the class, tinkered around with some of the drawers, and then made his way back to the window, crackling madly as he went.

"Naruto!" Sakura screamed. Her high pitched voice rudely waking the napping students, much to their displeasure. "What do you thing you are doing?"

"Well, it's his fault for giving such a boring lecture, Sakura-chan." The blond replied, giving the pink haired girl a bright smile as he climbed back out the window and onto the tree branch he had used to get there.

There was a slight creak in the branch, causing the escaping prankster to lose his footing, and after swinging his arms helplessly, he tumbled to the ground, a muffled yelp and thud signalled his landing a few seconds later.

The whole class chuckled at his misfortune. Even the ever brooding last Uchiha had a smirk on his face as he said "Dobe" softly.

A few moments later Iruka returned holding Naruto by the scruff of his neck.

"Naruto!" he exclaimed "Detention for a week! How did you even get Tora into the building? Do you have any idea how much damage that demonic cat caused?"

"Sensei!" The accused blond screamed as he tried to escape the hold the man had on his neck.

"Who said I let the damned cat in? You have absolutely no proof! Innocent until proven guilty DATTEBAYO!"

The scarred chuunin actually growled at the blond. "I will find proof Naruto... Mark my words..."

As soon as the man released his student the child lumbered to his seat, rubbing his neck, a slight limp evident from his previous fall.

"Why are you covered in twigs and dirt anyway Naruto?" Iruka asked, holding the base of his nose with his thumb and forefinger, his eyes closed.

"Uh...I fell." The blond replied, scratching the back of his head.

"I thought you went to the bathroom." The instructor countered, crossing his arms.

"I did. I ...Uh... fell in the bathroom, ... slid on the floor and flew out the window. It was quite amazing Sensei, you should have seen it."

Iruka just sighed again and headed toward his desk, his hand reaching out to open a drawer.

"IRUKA-SENSEI STOP! NARUTO MESSED WITH YOUR DESK!" Sakura yelled, standing up and pointing at the aforementioned blond. "He sneaked in here through the window when you were out!"

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto looked at the pink haired girl with anime tears running down his whiskered cheeks. "You ruined it! My brilliant plan all ruined"

"Seriously Dobe, if you wanted your plan to work you shouldn't have done it in front of the whole class." Sasuke smirked

"SHUT UP, TEME!"

Once again the class was filled with chuckling students. Iruka carefully opened his drawers and discovered a simple trap involving smoke bombs. _"Not a very good trap at all"_he thought as he easily disabled everything._ "Not up to his usual standard."_

* * *

An hour or so later the class had settled down and the previously napping students resumed their comfortable napping positions. Iruka was seated at his desk, marking some assignments. The diligent students had started doing some homework.

A certain blond suddenly grinned, his eyes lit up. Shikamaru was looking at the prankster with a frown on his brow, this would most likely end up being troublesome.

Naruto placed his hands in a seal and silently whispered _"kai!"_

Suddenly there was a flash and a bang. Iruka jumped up and attached himself to the roof, kunai in hand, looking for the enemy after his chair seemed to explode. A few girls shrieked at the shock of it all.

A loud crackling laughter filled the room as the dust cleared. Naruto was rolling on the ground laughing, gripping his sides. This was all just too good. The prank had finally come together.

"NARUTO!" Iruka-sensei yelled, his face red with rage. "DETENTION FOR A MONTH!"

Tears were running down the laughing prankster's face as he finally pulled himself up to look over his desk.

"You fell for it!" he yelled as he continued laughing. A couple of his classmates laughing as well, a few looking scandalized. Shikamaru just smirked a bit before going back to his nap.

"HA HA! I knew Sakura-chan would snitch on me, so I made it _look_ like my prank involved your desk when I actually attached a flash tag to the bottom of your chair." Naruto explained, wiping the tears of laughter from his face. "Oh that was so worth a month of detention..." The blond continued, ignoring the warning look from Shikamaru. "HAHA! You should have seen your face Sensei!"

"Well Naruto," Iruka said, standing up from his perch on the ceiling, before allowing himself to fall down to the ground gracefully, doing a casual flip in mid air, landing gently on his feet and placing the kunai back in his thigh holster. "If one month of detention isn't enough, how about three?"

"NANI?!"

Truly Iruka was slightly impressed that the blond actually though ahead and planned for his class mate to snitch on him. Even if she had not it would still have worked. Add to that the fact that Iruka still had no idea how the young troublemaker managed to get the demon cat in the school to cause the distraction. The cat was regularly causing genin teams trouble.

"Please see me after class so that we can discuss your detention." the instructor said and returned to his desk to face the bane of all teachers existence... marking assignments.

Naruto just hung his head. He wasn't really that mad, the prank had actually gotten him some attention, and the whole class was laughing this time. Honestly, it was almost worth all three month's worth of detention. Maybe he could even get Iruka to teach him some advanced ass kicking techniques as he carried out his detention every day.

* * *

A few weeks later Naruto was busy dusting down one of the classrooms of the academy and Iruka was supervising him, marking some assignments at the same time.

"Ne Ne, Iruka-sensei?" The blond suddenly spoke up after a full two minutes of being silent.

"Yes, Naruto?" Iruka replied, not looking up from his work.

"Could you teach me a new kick ass jutsu? I'm almost done with the day's cleaning and..."

"Naruto" Iruka interrupted him, "I can't teach you anything before you fully understand the basics."

"I understand the basics!"

"No, you don't." The instructor countered, still not looking up from his work.

Naruto was getting annoyed at the chuunin. "How would you know?" The blond yelled, waving his feather duster in the instructors direction.

"I know, Naruto, because I am the person responsible for testing you on the basics, and based on this weeks assignment, you clearly do not understand the basics" The man looked up from his work, showing Naruto his failing grade on the assignment he had just recently marked.

"That doesn't count."

Iruka raised an eyebrow. "Oh? And why not?"

"It's history." The blue eyed trouble maker replied.

"And?" At this point Iruka had put his marking pen down and was resting his chin on his interlaced fingers.

"It's not important." The blond replied with a shrug, going back to his dusting.

"History may be the most important subject of them all Naruto." Iruka said softly, his head tilted to the side. "The whole point is to learn of past mistakes, draw strength from previous heroes ... understand why we are even doing what we are."

Naruto just shrugged his shoulders and continued with his task. Iruka just sighed silently and started marking again, it was clear the boy simply did not understand the importance of the past.

A few moments later an ANBU appeared in the class, startling Naruto enough to tumble off the chair he had been balancing on to dust the higher shelves of the class' bookcase.

"ANBU-san, how may I help you?" Iruka asked the silent killer. The trained assassin turned his white crow masked face toward the man.

"I am here to deliver a message to Uzumaki Naruto." The crow masked figure replied. The figure had a deep voice, hinting toward being a male underneath the dark cloak and mask.

"Eeeh? What you want with me?" Naruto asked, getting to his feet, cursing the chair as he did so.

"Hokage-sama requires your presents in his office at once."

Within seconds Naruto was out the door, accompanied by the ANBU officer.

"Later Iruka-Sensei!: The blond called over his shoulder. Absolutely elated at getting out of detention. He did not even have to make up some elaborate excuse this time. "I can't have the Hokage waiting for me now can I?"

Iruka just sighed once again, shaking his head slightly... That boy would be the death of him one day.

* * *

"Ne Ne, Crow-san" The hyperactive kyuubi container addressed the silent ANBU officer. "What does Jiji want with me?"

"I do not know, Uzumaki-san" The man remotely replied.

"Why not?"

"I was not informed."

"Weren't you curious?" Naruto asked, holding his hands behind his head as he walked, looking at the ANBU from the corner of his eyes.

"No."

"Why not?"

"Knowing why Hokage-sama does things is none of my business, Uzumaki-san." The ANBU's voice was starting to get a sharper edge to it with every passing question the blue eyed boy asked.

By the time the pair reached the Hokage tower, Crow was quite close to strangling his charge. The annoying brat would simply not shut up. For the whole fifteen minute walk from the academy to the tower, the boy had been babbling non-stop. A man could only take so much before he is driven to the edge. ANBU were not used to being talked to, or being expected to talk back. They lived in silence , communicated without a sound and even that was rare. The poor ANBU officer was seconds away from starting to pull his own hair out the brat was so annoying.

The moment they arrived at the Hokage's office the man politely introduced the blond, excused himself and disappeared from sight to revel in the beauty of silence.

* * *

"Jiji!" Naruto greeted the old village ruler.

"Good afternoon, Naruto." The ageing man greeted him back with a smile. The man was silently chuckling at Crow's behaviour. That specific ANBU was usually so patient and hard to anger... Naruto genuinely had a gift for getting under peoples skin, or a curse, depending on how one looks at it. It could definitely be a great weapon one day.

"I hear you have been causing trouble at school once again, my boy." The Sandaime told the blond as he put away some of the more important documents on his desk. This meeting would require all of his attention.

"Not trouble, Jiji," The blond explained as he moved closer to the old man's desk. "I have just been making class a bit more exciting." The whiskered boy continued with a cheeky smile on his face. "It's Iruka-sensei that caused the trouble. If class wasn't so boring, I wouldn't have to make it better, dattebayo"

The Hokage chuckled at the boy's answer. "So what have you been studying recently that is so boring, Naruto-kun?" He asked as he laced his fingers in front of his face, is elbows resting on his paper covered desk. Hopefully the pages his elbows were leaving imprints on were not too terribly important.

The young trouble maker made a face of disgust and muttered a single word. "History."

Hiruzen could not help but laugh a little at his answer. "But my boy, history is probably one of the most important subjects you can learn."

"Why? It's boring and all the people we learn about is already dead." Naruto looked away, crossing his arms.

"The best way to learn something, or get better at something is to make mistakes and learn from them. Like if you use a kunai for the first time and cut your hand, you learn to hold the kunai properly next time, right?" The old professor started lecturing.

"Jiji," The blond sighed like the whole conversation was just too troublesome for him to pay proper attention. "I am too awesome to cut myself with a kunai."

"That is not the point, my boy... You learnt how to hold the kunai from a book or an instructor, correct? Well, if someone had not made the mistakes first, learnt from them... and then written a book about it, you would have cut your hands to shreds by now."

"Hai, hai." The blond replied, waving his one hand in an almost dismissal.

The Hokage sighed and shook his head a little. "Very well then Naruto, I did not call you here to talk about your school work." The village leader sat back and took a long drag from his pipe, releasing the fumes a few seconds later.

"I am going to tell you about your parents."

* * *

The blond froze, his eyes widened. "M-my parents?"

"Aah, but first, I must introduce you to someone. Due to certain circumstances, she was forced to leave the village the day you were born, and I could not tell you about her for her own safety." The Hokage explained before raising his voice slightly. "Natsumi-chan, you can come in now."

The office door opened to reveal a woman with dark red hair and bright blue eyes, the exact shade of Naruto's own eyes.

Naruto looked at the woman with open curiosity. She looked like a normal jōnin, the lower half of her face hidden by a black scarf.

The young Kyuubi host then turned back to the Sandaime "What does she have to do with my parents, old man. You told me they were dead." He asked, his voice clearly showing his displeasure at being interrupted.

"Just a moment, Naruto-kun." The old man replied before addressing the jōnin. "If you would be so kind as to seal the room, my dear."

The red head then closed the office door before placing her hand on a complicated looking seal design and placing some chakra in it. After she was done she turned back to the ageing village leader and gave a small nod in his direction, to which the man smiled before looking back at the confused boy in front of his desk.

"Naruto-kun," The Hokage started, "This is Uzumaki Natsumi. She was your mother's sister and is thereby your aunt and only living relative."

The small blond orphan's eyes widened even more than they had moments ago before he turned to look at the woman once again. He was completely frozen on the spot, his cerulean eyes glued to the only other pair of cerulean eyes in the room, his body shaking slightly.

"Hello, Naruto-kun." The woman said as she moved further into the room, her voice slightly uneven and her eyes soft. "I am glad to finally get to meet you, nephew."

* * *

**A.N. Hey guys, hope you enjoyed the chapter. Please let me know what you think, if you have any suggestions or anything. This is my first time doing something like this so any criticism is welcome.**

**Namikaze Kakashi**


	4. Chapter 4

**I do not own Naruto**

**A Past Retold - Chapter 3**

* * *

"Naruto-kun," The Hokage started, "This is Uzumaki Natsumi. She was your mother's sister and is thereby your aunt and only living relative."

The small blond orphan's eyes widened even more than they had moments ago before he turned to look at the woman once again. He was completely frozen on the spot, his cerulean eyes glued to the only other pair of cerulean eyes in the room, his body shaking slightly.

"Hello, Naruto-kun." The woman said as she moved further into the room, her voice slightly uneven and her eyes soft. "I am glad to finally get to meet you, nephew."

"W-What?" Naruto stuttered. Natsumi eye smiled at him.

"You might want to sit down Naruto-kun, I'll explain everything best I can." She continued, placing a hand on the boys shoulder, only to have Naruto skirt away from her.

"I don't understand." He said with a shaky voice, tears starting to fill his eyes.

Natsumi simply let her hand fall to her side. "Naruto-kun, I just ask that you listen to my story. It is a long one, but it will explain a few things."

The young woman sat on one of the Hokage's couch and gestured for Naruto to come sit next to her.

"I was born in Uzushiogakure twenty four years ago." She started her story after Naruto refused to move from his spot. "The village Uzusiogakure was situated in the Land of the Whirlpools. It was a strong ninja village that specialized in Fuuinjutsu and our clan, the Uzumaki, was the founding clan of the village. We were known for our fuuinjutsu, vitality and red hair." The time traveller nervously played with her long red locks as she continued. The Sandaime puffing away at his pipe and listening intently to the story. Natsumi had told him about meeting both her parents at some point, but he did not know that she knew so much about her past.

"It was a beautiful place surrounded by eddies, just like the name describes. We were also quite famous for sealing the tailed beasts into human hosts, enabling the host's to use the beast's chakra. These people are known as Jinchuuriki, power of the human sacrifice, and they are incredibly powerful. Almost every hidden village has one. The beasts were divided after the Shodaime Hokage captured them all. It was a way to balance the power between the villages."

"However, because our village was so strong we were seen as a threat by the other great shinobi villages. During the second great Ninja war, Kumo, Iwa and Kiri formed a temporary alliance and attacked us. By the time our allies, Konoha, had arrived, the village was already destroyed." The Uzumaki paused a bit and took a deep breath. Naruto was still standing in the middle of the office but his posture was no longer as stiff as it had been before. He was surprised to learn that he was part of a clan that was strong enough to make three other hidden villages nervous. He was also sad to hear that his mother's village was destroyed, along with his family.

"Your mother was already in Konoha by this time, so she was safe. I had also managed to escape, but I was very young, only four. I was eventually placed in an orphanage where I grew up until one of the sannin, Jiraiya-sama, found me. He brought me to Konoha, where I met my sister for the first time in more than ten years."

"I had forgotten about her and she thought I had died during the destruction of Uzushiogakure. It was so nice to meet her, to finally have a family. I know you know what it's like to be alone. To finally meet someone who was related by blood, that unconditional love... It was incredible." She said, eye smiling again.

"She was already pregnant with you. She could not wait for you to be born... she was so excited...She told me all about how she was going to raise you and how they had decided to call you Naruto. Your father was also an amazing man. He was strong, and would do anything to protect his family." Naruto's eyes widened and a tear ran down his cheek. His mom had loved him. His parents had both wanted him... He moved over to go sit next to his supposed aunt, keeping silent as to not interrupt her story.

"Then, on the night of your birth, something horrible happened...The kyuubi attacked the village."

"To explain the attack, I must explain a bit more about my sister Kushina, your mother. She was sent to Konoha when she was young. Konoha and Uzu had always been the strongest of allies. Kushina had a special kind of chakra... She was sent here in order to become the next Kyuubi jinchuuriki, after Uzumaki Mito-sama."

"What!?" The whiskered youth demanded. "My mother had the kyuubi inside her?"

"Hai, she did. Not a lot of people knew about it though. On the 10th of October ten years ago, a man attacked her right after she had given birth to you, forcing her to release the Kyuubi." Natsumi continued. At this point the Sandaime had put his pipe down and was listening with rapt attention. Naruto was silently crying, horrified at what he was hearing.

"You know how the Kyuubi attacked the village and how the Yondaime "killed" the beast by sacrificing his life?" Natsumi asked, receiving a confirming nod from her nephew.

"This is a lie." the red head stated firmly. "One can not kill a tailed beast. They are entities made completely out of chakra, while they may die, they will reform after a few years. The Yondaime had instead sealed the beast away. He did not only make one jinchuuriki, however, he had made two...I was one of them..." Natsumi removed her scarf to show him her whiskers that were exactly like his own.

"The other was a new born baby, who had just had his umbilical cord cut." Naruto suddenly stood up and moved as far away from her as he could. His eyes filled with fear, his hands shaking.

"No..." He whispered in desperation.

Natsumi looked at him with sad but understanding eyes, like she knew exactly what he was going through. "Just before the beast was sealed, he tried to attack you, Naruto. Both my sister and your father jumped in front of you and died protecting you that night. I still remember their last words, their hopes and dreams for you." Natsumi's voice broke a bit during this part as she remembered the messages, tears now freely falling from her eyes. The Sandaime had his eyes shut tightly as he remembered that exact scene, Minato and Kushina impaled on the beast's claw.

"After the sealing I had to leave the village. Being made a jinchuuriki at fourteen is risky. Even having only half of the kyuubi's chakra was too much for me to handle. I was not a Ninja, I did not know how to control it. I was taken out of the village because the risk of me releasing the beast was too great and I had to learn how to control it and become a Ninja."

"A few days ago, I was finally able to return to Konoha. Now Naruto-kun, I know this must be extremely difficult for you, and I do not blame you if you hate me for abandoning you for ten years. I thought you would be seen as a hero, like your parents had hoped. I thought you would be taken care of. The villagers I had briefly met ten years ago were all so nice, I was sure they would protect you, I never imagined they would turn out like they did..."

Naruto was still on the other side of the room, tears running non-stop down his heartbroken face. Natsumi stood up from the couch and walked over to the boy, crouching down so that she would be at his eye-level. She wiped the tears from his face as a few new ones stained her own. She locked her eyes with his, a small, hopeful smile on her uncovered lips.

"I would like to make it up to you, my nephew." She said, cupping his face with her one hand and using her thumb to remove yet another tear. She tilted her head slightly to the side before she continued. "If you would let me, I would like to adopt you."

The blond boy's blue eyes flashed with betrayal. "You left me here..." He said softly, his voice breaking.

Natsumi's eyes widened. "I'm sorry..." she whispered, collapsing to her knees, her face angled down. "I am so sorry... You had such an awful childhood... I wish I could have come back sooner..." The young woman took a shaky breath before looking her fellow kyuubi jinchuuriki in the eyes. "Please let me make it up to you."

Natsumi moved forward and enveloped her nephew in a warm hug, allowing him to hide his face in her shoulder, holding him tightly as he started sobbing. "Don't leave again, Obasan." he whispered into her scarf softly, but just loud enough for Natsumi to hear.

Natsumi stilled, her face the picture of shock before she smiled, grabbing the boy into an even tighter hug. "I will never leave you again, Naruto-kun. I will always be here to protect you."

Natsumi gave the Sandaime a look, asking for permission to leave. The old man replied with a soft smile and a nod. It would be good for the new family to spend some time together.

With a swirl of leaves, Natsumi and Naruto were gone, leaving the Professor to his office and paperwork.

* * *

Natsumi had shunshined them all the way to her new apartment a few blocks away. Still holding her crying nephew she moved to sit on one of her new comfortable couches. Simply holding Naruto as he finally let some of his heartache out. Most likely the boy was not only crying about his newly acquired aunt, but everything that had happened to him for a long time. Often, once a person breaks down about the smallest thing, they think about everything else that has been causing them pain for the last few months or even years some times... It can only be healthy to let it out once in a while.

Natsumi smiled sadly as she ran her fingers through his hair and rubbed soothing circles on his back. She never had anyone to be there for her and she remembered exactly how she craved for someone to hold her while she cried. She would make sure that _this_ Naruto would not have cry alone ever again, for as long as she could possibly be there for him.

* * *

A few hours later, Naruto stirred in his sleep. The boy had cried himself to exhaustion earlier. Natsumi had also drifted off after a while, it had been an emotional day after all... but being a ninja, she awoke a moment before Naruto, feeling him move around. She kept her eyes closed and her breathing even though... just absorbing the moment.

For Naruto it was strange. As he opened his eyes he found himself still wrapped in his aunt's arms. It was nice and warm. He could hear her heart beat... it was strangely relaxing... However, it had been a long day, and he had not eaten anything since lunch so his stomach had made it's discomfort known with a loud rumble, demanding that food make its way into the blond's mouth soon. Naruto felt his aunt shake slightly as she chuckled... "Sounds like someone is hungry, huh?" She smiled at him, opening one of her eyes to look at him.

His cheeks reddened with embarrassment. Suddenly another rumble broke the silence of the room... "Heh.. guess you aren't the only one..." Natsumi spoke again, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly, a slight red dusting at her own cheeks. There was a moment of silence before Naruto grinned up at his aunt, but did not say anything.

"_Hmm, he's still so shy..."_ The red head thought. Grinning at her nephew, she ruffled his hair "How about we go get some ramen for supper at Ichiraku?" She asked him with a smile.

Naruto's eyes lit up. "Really!?" He asked excitedly, causing Natsumi's smile to widen at the excitement in his voice.

"Yeah! I like Ramen... how about you?"

"I LOVE ramen!" The blond shouted before jumping to his feet. "Come on lets go!" He continued excitedly, garbing Natsumi's hand and dragging her towards the door.

The whole way to the ramen stand Naruto was talking about ramen. How it was his favourite food, how the owner and his daughter were nice and how he went there at least once a week... Natsumi simply smiled behind her scarf as she allowed her nephew to drag her down the street. The only thing that would always get Naruto to open up was ramen...

* * *

"Hey old man!" Naruto greeted Teuchi as he ran into the famed ramen stand.

"Ah, Naruto-kun!" The old man greeted back with a smile. "Good to see you my boy."

"Ne-ne, Old-man!" Naruto said, pointing at Natsumi who had walked in right after him "This is my Obasan! I met her today."

Natsumi eye smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head. Teuchi kept his ever-present smile on his face as he studied Natsumi.

"Is that so Naruto? I didn't know you had an aunt." He said with an icy tone directed at Natsumi. She knew this would most likely not be easy.

"Nor did I!" The blond boy continued, completely ignorant at the tension between the adults.

"Oh well that's lovely, Naruto-kun!" Ayame said warmly as she turned to look at Natsumi. "Its so nice to meet you ." She greeted the red head with a smile.

Natsumi smiled. "It is so nice to meet you both." She said with a smile and a low bow. "I must thank you for looking after my nephew while I was away. He has said many great things about you."

A few seconds later Natsumi and Naruto were both seated, Naruto chatting excitedly to Ayame about what he was going to order.

"So, you are Naruto's aunt." Teuchi asked as he took the red-head's order.

"Hai, Uzumaki Natsumi... nice to meet you." She replied with a smile. It really was amazing to see the old man again... He and Ayame had been some of the first to die once Konoha was invaded... They would not close the store and go into hiding, believing that the shinobi needed someone to cook good food for them... some place to go and have a drink. They had told Natsumi that Ichiraku's was their home, and it was a part of Konoha. They had said that they would serve Konoha's shinobi until the very end... just like the shinobi had served them... It took all of Natsumi's strength to not run up to the man and hug him like she used to hug the grandfatherly figure he was in her life.

"You mention that you were away..." The old man interrupted her thoughts. "Long mission?" he asked sceptically.

"Something like that, I was forced to leave the village the day Naruto was born."

"Is that so... " He replied as he stirred the boiling noodles, before serving them up. "So how exactly are you Naruto's aunt... which of his parents was a sibling of yours."

Natsumi sighed slightly before she lowered her ."My sister, Uzumaki Kushina, was his mother." She let the man get a good look at her face before covering it back up. Relying on her looks to back up her claim.

The old man's eyes widened as he took a step back in shock. "Kushina-chan" he whispered, his eyes slightly moist.

"Did you know her, Tuechi-san?" The time traveler asked softly, hoping to hear a little about her mother...or "sister"...

"Hai..." The man said softly as he wiped the counter with a cloth... his face angled down. "She used to come here almost every day..." Natsumi slowly ate her ramen as she listened to the old man's sad voice. "Lovely girl...she had a heart of gold you know... I never knew Naruto was her son" he said wistfully as he looked at the cheerful blond boy, a sad smile formed on his face. "I can't believe I didn't see it... he is just like her... such a kind soul."

"When Uzu was destroyed, we both sort of lost each-other. I was lucky enough to meet her briefly though, just before Naruto was born..." Natsumi sighed softly. "But she was definitely my greatest role model."

The old man smiled as if lost in memory.. "She was beautiful you know, both inside and out... She had so many admirers... Men would have lined up to be with her had she not already been taken..." Suddenly he laughed, wiping at his eyes... "Why, I remember when she finally brought that Minato around she had been telling me so much about... He was such a sweet boy as well..." The old man drifted off in his memories before he froze, his eyes wide enough for them to actually be visible. He suddenly looked straight at Naruto before he dropped his cloth in shock.

"Kushina... and Minato..."

"Tuechi-san," Natsumi interrupted him, a warning tone in her voice.

"Kami,.. I'm right aren't I?" The ramen chef looked at Natsumi for confirmation.

"Hai." The red head replied.

"Why weren't we told about this?!" He demanded in a whisper as to not alert the children. "The boy has been treated as a demon when he should have been praised as a prince!"

"Considering what Naruto is he should have been praised as a hero in any case!" Natsumi countered "Do you really think it would be a good idea for people to know that the Yellow Flash and the Red Hot Habanero had a son together? Could you even imagine the danger he would be in? Half the elemental nations would be after his head! He's ten for kami's sake!"

Tuechi stilled as he realised the implications of those two having an offspring together. The boy will be unstoppable one day..."Does he know?"

"Not yet..." Natsumi whispered before taking a small sip of her tea. "I will tell him about his parent's real names. However, the Sandaime has ordered that he only finds out about their title's once he has graduated."

"Kami-sama... The Yondaime's son... treated like filth... I bet he's turning in his grave right now."

"He will not be treated like filth any more. I will make sure of it." Determination burned in her eyes as she looked at the cheerful boy now playing with some game involving chop sticks with the chef's daughter.

"I'm just glad the boy finally has someone to look out for him." Tuechi declared. "Be sure to pay the bastards back for me as well..."

"Hai."

* * *

"That was great!" Naruto shouted as they walked home after supper.

"Yea, Ramen is awesome, right?" Natsumi asked him with a smile.

"RIGHT, DATTEBAYO!"

Natsumi chuckled at the catch phrase.. She had grown out of it eventually … or at least, Sakura had beaten it out of her after she was named Rokudaime, stating that no Hokage should ever speak like that.

"Ne ne, Natsumi-obasan...?" Naruto interrupted her thoughts.

"Hmm?"

"Where are we going?" He asked. They were not heading back to Natsumi's apartment as Naruto had thought they would.

"We are going to fetch an over night bag for you Naruto-kun." Natsumi said as she looked the blond in the eye. "You will be staying with me tonight... That is,... unless you don't want to stay?"

Naruto's face lit up with one of his brightest smiles. "That sounds great! Can't I just move in with you?"

"Eventually yes, once I have adopted you." Natsumi replied as they continued walking down the narrow roads that made up Konoha.

"How long will that take?"

The red head lifted her hand to cup her chin as she thought for a bit before replying. "A few days I would guess... Sandaime-sama and myself will have to speak to the council about it first."

"But why?"

"Because, Naruto-kun, you are a very important part of the village. They will not let just anyone adopt a Jinchuriki..."

Naruto was quiet for a bit before he looked at Natsumi with big eyes.

"Am I really a demon?" He asked softly.

Natsumi stopped walking and put her had on her fellow jinchuuriki's shoulder, giving it a comforting squeeze. "Listen to me carefully Naruto. You are not a demon, and nor am I. We are simply vessels... jailers you could say. We keep the Kyuubi safely tucked away..."

"But everyone..."

"They are all idiots, nephew." Natsumi stated firmly, fire in her eyes. "Don't listen to people who are too stupid to distinguish between a scroll and a kunai..."

Naruto simply kept staring at the ground before him, a small frown on his face.

"Hey..." The red-headed time traveler said as she lifted her counterpart's chin to look him in the eye... "It's not that bad..."She continued softly. " I've even spoken to him... He really is not that bad once you get to know him... In fact... he is actually quite a sweetheart."

"**I am NOT a sweetheart! Don't test me kit!"** Kurama roared in her mind.

"_I love you too, Kurama."_ She replied with a smile and a scratch behind his ear.

"You talk to him?" Naruto asked, his eyes wide with absolute shock.

"Of course...I would even do as far as to call him my best friend and strongest comrade."

"Could you teach me?" The young jinchuuriki asked.

"I would love to."

* * *

**A.N**

**Hey guys, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Please let me know what you think and everything... **

**This fic is going to be long, a lot of things are still going to happen, but it cant happen all at once so there is going to be a bit of a slow start to things...**

**But yeah, please review... I love hearing your opinions... **

**Kind regards**

**Namikaze Kakashi **


	5. Chapter 5

**I Do Not own Naruto**

**Hey guys, sorry it's a bit late,... and slightly short...**

**A Past Retold - Chapter 4**

It was a morning like any other in the village of Konohagakure. The sun was bright and pleasantly warm, the birds were singing... Natsumi was standing in her new kitchen in front of her new stove wearing a bright orange apron, hands on her hips. Her hair was flowing around her in nine separate tails as she cursed at the offending kitchen appliance. The kitchen was filled with smoke and the smell of something burning...

"Obasan?" A small Naruto walked into the kitchen, his hair a mess. "What's going on?" The blond asked sleepily.

Natsumi turned her head to look at her counterpart, a forced smile on her face... her hair still waving around wildly. "Good Morning, Nephew... I was just cooking breakfast..."

"It smells kinda burnt..." the boy replied,trying to wave the smoke out of his face.

"It is NOT burnt!" Natsumi replied, her hair getting wilder by the second. "It's just extra crispy!" She exclaimed, scraping a spoon full of the soot covered pot and putting it in her mouth before turning slightly green. Naruto just saw a red blur as his aunt headed for the bathroom.

It was a few moments before the red head reappeared, holding a small towel over her mouth, her face still showing a slight green tint. "Ok... It might be a slight bit burnt..." She admitted tiredly, causing the blond boy to laugh. Her hair had finally settled back into it's usual state. "I have never been really good at the whole cooking thing..." Naruto just giggled at his slightly strange aunt.

The boy had been having "sleep overs" at her flat for a few nights in a row now, right after the night at Ichiraku's. While it could not be said that he had moved in yet, due to political issues, it was close enough for the two of them. Natsumi had allowed her blond counterpart to skip a few days at the academy. Although she knew the boy needed a lot of work on his ninja skills and missing class was certainly not helping the matter, she felt that they needed to get to know each-other a bit more. They had spent the most of their time on her couch telling life stories and making jokes... The two had finally reached a point where they could be comfortable with one another.

Today she was going to start training properly. She was also going to help Naruto with his training. Therefore she had thought that a good and healthy breakfast would be a great start to the day... well, that had not turned out very well at all.

Natsumi sighed as she rubbed the base of her nose, her eyes closed and a frown visible on her brow. "Ok, get ready for training, Naru-kun. We will go to Ichiraku's for breakfast and head to the training fields from there."

"YATTA!" The boy yelled, his sleepiness forgotten as he ran to his temporary room to get dressed. Natsumi just sighed again in defeat. As much as she loved ramen, and would eat it every day for every meal... she knew it couldn't be healthy. Everyone had always told her so in any case... She was going to have to learn how to cook properly, Naruto would not grow up malnourished or have his growth stunted.

About half an hour later found the newly formed Uzumaki family once again at the Ichiraku ramen stand, enjoying their noodles with content smiles on their faces.

"As much as I love to see the two of you every day" Teuchi started with a worried smile "Ramen is not the healthiest of meals..."

Natsumi lowered her head, mumbling softly. "Hai... but I can't cook" refusing to look the man in the face, while Naruto giggled again at her failed attempt this morning.

"Hehe... You should have seen it old man... The kitchen was filled with this dark smoke and..." Naruto suddenly quieted when he saw the look his aunt was giving him, before giving a carefree shrug of his shoulders. "Well it was... you can't deny it Natsumi-Obasan."

Natsumi just sighed again in defeat while the old ramen chef chuckled softly. "I could always teach you a few basics, Natsumi-san." he said with a fatherly smile, causing the red head to smile with genuine warmth. This man was quickly becoming a fatherly figure for her in this time.

"Thank you, Teuchi-san. I would really appreciate that." The time-traveller said with a warm eye smile, causing the old man to chuckle again.

"No problem, my child. Just come around Sunday afternoon after closing time."

Natsumi just nodded her head in an affirmative manner, still eye smiling at the man while Naruto continued to enjoy the wonders of his ramen.

"Why are we here? I thought we were going to train" Naruto asked his aunt in a whiny voice as they walked through the entrance of the library.

"We are going to train Naru-kun." Natsumi replied with a smile right after she had death-stared the lady at the front desk for muttering "demon" softly under her breath, causing the old lady to almost soil herself in fear. "The books and scrolls here are going to help us with just that." She replied before making a hand sign. A second later they were surrounded by ten Natsumi clones, each heading off to a different section of the library. Naruto looked at her with wide eyes, "You can make clones!?" He whispered in an almost disbelieving voice.

"Aah,... what of it?" Natsumi asked rubbing the back of her head, feeling slightly uneasy with the look of praise the boy was giving her.

"TEACH ME!" The energetic boy suddenly yelled causing a few people to jump at the sudden noise before giving the small family some of the darkest glares they could master.

"Shhhh!" Natsumi shushed the boy, crouching down and putting her hand over the blonds loud mouth. "We are in a library, so you have to be super quiet" She whispered to him gently, but with some authority present in her voice. Naruto simply tilted his head, as if he still did not understand why he had to be quiet, but nodded nevertheless, not wanting to anger his aunt.

Natsumi removed her hand before continuing. "Ok, now those weren't normal clones. They are called Kage bunshin. It means that they are substantial and can carry out tasks just as well as the real me can. I also receive their memories when they are dispelled. The clone technique you learn at the academy is a simple illusion, used to distract your enemy. They can not preform any tasks as they are not really there, Understand so far?"

The blond nodded, his eyes brimming with excitement.

"I will not teach you this technique..."

"N...!" Natsumi covered her nephews mouth before he could shout out again.

"I won't teach it to you yet," She continued with a stern look. "While this is a powerful technique, learning it to early on will make you become dependant on it." Natsumi knew that she used the technique way too often. It was one of her best, but using it had made her lazy and dependant on her clones to win her fights for her. "I will teach you this technique once you have proven to me that you will use it responsibly and not use it as a crutch... OK?" She could see that Naruto was annoyed. He had no patience. He wanted to learn it now, be strong now... He did not realize that learning only the powerful techniques actually made a person weak. Well, he did not realize it yet. Natsumi would make sure that by the time he graduates he will have a firm understanding of how being a ninja was not about being flashy and famous. It was about being sneaky and getting the job done in the easiest and simplest way possible, making sure the team came back alive.

Natsumi herself had only realized this closer to the end of the war, after she had been named Rokudaime. She saw that she was far too weak to protect her people, even when she had some of the most powerful techniques in the world...Well, this time around it would be different. Her cloned had gone off to find different useful E and D ranked techniques of every element and some taijutsu scrolls to help her become faster and stronger. She even sent one to look for some beginners genjutsu, advanced chakra control and beginners sealing. She would master them all to the absolute best of her ability, and then incorporate them into a fighting style to be reckoned with.

Together with Naruto, the real Natsumi headed to the basics section of the library and picked out a book on basic chakra control and some scrolls on beginners taijutsu for Naruto. The boy was still annoyed with her that he would only be learning "stupid beginner stuff" but she knew that if they followed this path, the boy would turn out a lot more powerful than she ever would.

Once they arrived at a deserted training ground Natsumi created even more clones and set them all to training, each group with a different scroll. The original then turned to Natuto with an eye smile. "Ok then, Naru. Let's get started." Seeing the blond eyes light up with excitement she chuckled.

"Lets start with fitness. I want you to run around this training field ten times. Then take a one minute break. Follow that up with fifty push ups, sit-ups, lunges, squats and pull ups. I want you to repeat this circuit five times."

Naruto 's eyes lost a bit of it's excitement for a few seconds as he listened to the intense workout his aunt had planned for him. They had never done this much work at the academy. Determination quickly set in though. He was going to get so strong after this.

The small blond shouted a small war cry before starting his circuit, causing Natsumi to chuckle slightly before she set out to do a similar circuit, but with each of the components multiplied by ten. She needed to get fit after all, and this was certainly not something that her clones could help her out with.

About two hours later Naruto collapsed with exhaustion, his clothes drenched with sweat as he tried to get oxygen in his lungs. The academy workouts never affected him but this was simply insane... Natsumi had finished her physical workout about thirty minutes before Naruto and was currently running through some advanced kata's.

She had come to the realization that because her body had aged seven years, her physical stamina and muscle memory was shot... she would really have to work quite hard on those aspects in order to be a semi-reasonable jōnin. She allowed Naruto ten minutes to catch his breath before she walked over to him.

"How are you feeling?" She asked with an innocent eye smile, a small amount of laughter in her voice.

"Dead... I have never been so tired in my life..." The sweat drenched boy replied, glaring at his aunt for having put him through that ordeal.

"Good" The red head simply replied. "That means it's working" She said, ignoring the dumbfounded expression on her nephew's face before pulling out the thick book on basic chakra control.

"Now I know that you have already used your chakra before, and you have most likely done some of the exercises in this book, but I want you to go through the first chapter and master the first chakra control exercise listed to my satisfaction. Understood?"

"Naruto's face just fell at the thought of having to read through the first chapter of that insanely thick book. "Do I have to?" He whined, trying to soften Natsumi up with his puppy dog blue eyes.

"Yes." The red head replied sternly, straightening up and looking down at Naruto with an unreadable expression. "I will not tolerate laziness. You will do this Naruto. It is most likely the most important aspect of being a ninja that you could master at this point. Especially since you are a jinchuuriki. There is no way you will ever be able to control what is sealed inside you if you can't even control your own chakra sufficiently."

"**Don't you think you are being a bit hard on the boy, kit?" **Kurama chuckled in the back of her mind.

"_He can handle it."_ Natsumi replied with a slightly worried but firm voice._ "__Plus, you can not deny that he needs to learn."_

Kurama simply widened his smirk. **"****Very well then brat, but don't come crying to me when he gives up."**

"_He won't give up."_

"**So you say."**

"_I know it."_

Naruto simply looked up at his aunt with mixed emotions before he picked up the book and settled cross legged under one of the trees surrounding the training ground. It was slow going at first, but eventually he picked up a leaf from close by and started trying to stick it to the palm of his hand with chakra. Natsumi simply smiled at the boy before getting back to her training. He would definitely become strong.

It took Naruto a few hours, but eventually, after a lot of cursing and shouting words a ten year old boy had no business knowing, he had managed to stick a leaf to the palms of both his hands at the same time.

The boy was exhausted. His knees were shaking slightly from chakra exhaustion, his brow was sweaty, but he had a wide victorious smirk on his face as he showed his aunt how far he had come.

"Well done Natu-kun!" The time-traveller exclaimed with a wide smile, ruffling the blond's hair. "I am proud of you."

Naruto smiled even wider "Hehe, I mastered it in one day Dattebayo!" he yelled excitedly, jumping up and throwing the leaves in the air. "I am awesome!"

"You are indeed awesome, but you have not yet mastered it Naruto"

The excited boy whirled around to look at the red head. "What do you mean!? The book said to stick them to my hands and I did."

"I want you to master it better than the book says. Eventually you must be able to stick them from any part of our body. I want you to work on sticking them to your feet next." Natsumi explained as she picked up a few leaves and twirled them around each of her fingers causing Naruto's shoulders to slump a bit. Suddenly she dropped the leaves and dusted off her hands. "But that will come later, you did very well today Naruto. I am proud of you." She said with another eye smile "You will be very strong one day."

Naruto's eyes lit up again at the praise. With a smirk he pumped his fist in the air. "I will be Hokage, dattebayo!" He exclaimed loudly, pointing at the Hokage mountain "Everybody will respect me."

Natsumi chuckled at his determination."I have no doubt about that, kid. You would make an amazing Hokage."

Naruto's eyes widened "You really think I could do it?"

"No Naruto, I know you could do it," She replied, ruffling his hair once again. "If you trained hard enough."

A small genuine smile lit up the boy's features. It was a rare occurrence for him to drop his mask, even around his newly discovered aunt. He might still have a long way to go but his aunt believed in him, and if his aunt believed he could do it then he could.

"**Don't you think you are babying the boy a bit"**

"_First I'm too harsh and now I'm babying him?" _Natsumi chuckled as she rubbed the giant fox behind the ears_. "Make up your mind Kurama."_

The fox simply grunted, moving his head into a more comfortable position. **"****As long as he doesn't go soft. I don't tolerate soft vessels."**

"_He's ten... Of course he's soft... He just needs a bit of encouragement at the moment."_

It was hours later that Natsumi finally returned home. Naruto had left the training ground hours ago and was waiting for his aunt to come home. He was starting to get worried just before she stumbled though the door.

Natsumi looked absolutely exhausted. Her clothes were ripped and dirty, her hair was sticking to her face and she could barely stand.

"Natsumi-Obasan!?" Naruto exclaimed worriedly.

Natsumi Straightened at hearing her name. "Oh, hey kid." She said tiredly as she held the wall to keep up straight. "I thought you would be sleeping by now. You really did not have to wait up."

"Are you OK?"

"I'm fine, just a little tired." Suddenly the red head's knees gave out and she fell to er hands and knees.

"Obasan!?"

"I'm fine Naruto," She said with a tired smile as she removed her scarf. "I just forgot about a few of my clones and they all decided to dispel at the same time." She explained, moving to sit on the couch. "When a clone dispels, the creator receives it's experiences, meaning that I also receive their their exhaustion." After a few moments the female kyuubi vessel stood up from the crouch, stretching out her sore muscles before heading to the kitchen to make some instant ramen for the both of them.

Naruto simply followed his aunt as she moved around, his eyes confused."Why do you train so hard?"

"Because" She replied, pulling at the tie keeping her hair up before running her hand through her red locks tiredly. "I'm not strong enough."

"You are plenty strong! You're a jōnin!."

"I still need to get stronger"

"But why?"

"Because, I don't want to see any more important people die."

"What do you mean?" The small blond jinchuuriki asked, tilting his head to one side. "Who died?"

The red head simply looked at the blond, trying to find a way to explain that everyone she actually knew was dead. "Some of my most precious friends." She said soflty before cleaning up their ramen cups.

"How did they die?"

Natsumi stilled, not looking at her counterpart"Honourably" she said, bowing her head slightly. "Like true shinobi."

It was a few minutes later that Natsumi walked Naruto back to his flat. As much as she wanted him to stay over again she knew they were already toeing the line. Naruto would also have to return to the academy tomorrow. He could not stay away forever. He would, however, meet up with Natsumi for training and meals every now and again.

It was a slow relaxed walk and Natsumi held Naruto's hand the entire way as they talked about the day they had. Naruto was careful not to mention anything that would make his aunt think about her friends that had died though, he did not like the sad look she had gotten on her face earlier. As they walked a few people still cursed at the small blond but they quickly scurried away after receiving death stares filled with killing intent from the red head.

"Woah" Naruto said as they entered his sparkling clean apartment.

"I sent some clones to clean it up earlier" Natsumi said with a smile, placing a hand on his shoulder she turned the boy to look her in the face. "But if you let it get that messy again we will have words... Understood?" Although the red head's face was in a smile and her voice was soft, there was a certain foreboding surrounding the statement.

"H-Hai..." Naruto replied with a slight stutter. His aunt could be really scary sometimes.

As Naruto laid in bed that night, his hands behind his head as he stared at his ceiling, he thought about the eventful day he had. His muscles were sore and tired from training and he had a slight headache from using his chakra so much earlier in the day, but he felt good. He felt a little bit stronger. However, there were a few things that were bothering him slightly.

His aunt had trained so much longer and harder than him., but he never once saw her do anything big or flashy. She seemed to focus on small things that seemed rather useless to him. One of her favourite new techniques of the day was to create a small shock when she touched someone. It seemed so useless... Why would she want to do it? She was already strong enough to be a jōnin...

Naruto sighed as he moved to lie on his side. The red headed Uzumaki was just so motivated. She had said that she did not want any more people to die. But then again, her special people had died as honourable shinobi...

That was the moment that it hit him, what it meant to truly be a ninja. Ninja died every day... Not only the enemy... but comrades as well... Family included. The blond had never really thought about it like that. He simply thought it was cool. And an awesome job...

Years later Naruto would look back at this moment and realize that it was right then that he had promised himself that he would protect his aunt ... his family. There was a big chance that she may die, but if he was strong enough he could protect her. She was the only family he had, and he had only just found her... He was most definitely not going to let her die.

**A.N**

**97 followers and 58 favorites! This is so much more than i had hoped or ever dreamed. I would like to thank all of my awesome reviewers. You guys encouraged me to get this out sooner than i would have otherwise and i really appreciate everybody's view on things.**

**I apologize that the chapter is late, and short. It has been a really busy few days but i finally got it up. Things are going to start happening from now on. In the next chapter Naruto will be back at the academy and he will be a bit more serious about things. Natsumi will also become a bit more involved with the village and meet a few people.**

**So yeah, until next time then, Please review and let me know what you think.**

**Regards**

**Namikaze Kakashi**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey guys, sorry it's late.**

**A Past Retold - Chapter 5**

The next morning, Naruto's determination to become a true shinobi was still there. He rose early, at the first ring of his annoying old alarm clock, had a quick shower and left for the academy. He still had his happy go lucky smile on his face but if one was to look closely, his eyes had a slightly sharper glint to them than before, a slightly brighter will to get stronger.

Naruto walked into the classroom a few minutes before the bell was due to ring and took a seat closer to the front of the class than he usually would before picking a leaf out of his bag and sticking it to his forearm, underneath his sleeve. Natsumi had told him to master the technique completely, and so he would, even if it was slow going.

Naruto's drive, however, was not the only thing that had changed. He was also wearing some new clothes. It was of a similar style to his previous jumpsuit, but the colouring was different and it fit him a lot better. Instead of the neon orange, it was now a far darker, more burnt colour. It was a colour that could easily blend in with some dead, or autumn leaves. The navy blue trimmings were also gone, replaced with black. His pants now resembled the ones seen on the ANBU, black with an orange stripe down the side, taped into some new black shinobi sandals. All in all, the blond kyuubi holder looked a lot more like an aspiring ninja while still keeping his love for all things orange.

As Iruka entered the classroom he had to do a double take. At first glance the blond boy looked like a new student but the second look had confirmed him to actually be Naruto. The scar nosed teacher was more than a little surprised to see the blond in class, and actually early for once. On any normal day, it could be counted on that the cheerful child would waltz into class at least five minutes late, disrupting whatever order he had only just managed to pull over the other children. The troublemaker's new clothes also baffled the young chuunin. Naruto loved his old jump suit...

"Good Morning, Naruto." He greeted with a smile while arranging the papers on his desk and getting ready to start teaching.

"Hey! Iruka-Sensei!"The blond replied, cheerful as always.

"Is everything all right?"

"Yip! Everything is great, dattebayo!" Naruto's voice grew even more cheerful as he continued "Even better than great! My aunt returned from her super long mission!"

At that Iruka stilled,"Really?" Turning to look at Naruto with a shocked expression "That's wonderful Naruto! I did not know you had an aunt... I'm quite sure your records show that you don't have any relatives."

"I know!" Naruto basically yelled, jumping to his feet in hie excitement and waving his arms about as some of the other students started entering the class "I never knew either... She had to leave just after I was born though, and the mission she was on was very important, so Jiji made it look like she never existed. Although she was only here for a few days before I was born...Did you know that the Uzumaki was actually a really strong clan? Yeah, we had our whole own village! It was called Uzushiogakure, and my family was the ruling family there!"

"Don't be stupid, Naruto-baka!" Sakura's shrill voice interrupted the blond "You are just lying to make yourself look cool like Sasuke-kun!"

The young jinchuuriki spun around to look at the source of the voice, "I AM NOT LYING!" he yelled, his hands forming fists and shaking slightly. No one was going to tell him him his family was a lie, no one was going to insult his clan... no matter how much of a crush he had on the girl. If she insulted his family she was not worth it. The Uzumaki were much too great a clan to be soiled like that.

Iruka could see a fight brewing, so using his big-head-no-jutsu, "Quiet, both of you!" He yelled, earning the startled looks of all the children in the class. He dismissed the jutsu before continuing, "It is true that there once was a shinobi village called Uzushiogakure, there was also a very strong clan that lived there, called the Uzumaki." He clarified in his lecture voice, he softened a bit as he looked at the young Uzumaki descendant "I never thought you were a direct descendant though, Naruto... The Uzumaki usually have red hair..."

"Yeah, my aunt said I take after my father though... apparently he was blond. Natsumi-obasan has the coolest red hair though!" Naruto explained, rubbing the back of his blond head sheepishly, his face falling slightly as he continued his story. "But then they were destroyed and my mother and aunt lost touch. My mother thought Natsumi-obasan died and Natsumi-obasan was too young to remember my mother so my aunt was raised in like, an orphanage, but came here just before I was born and met my mom. It is actually a really long story but the point is that I do have an aunt! And it's awesome!" The prankster finished with his usual cheerful voice, a smile on his face.

Iruka's expression softened. He was truly glad that Naruto was no longer alone. It really was the worst kind of pain..."I am very happy for you Naruto."

Not many students in the rest of the class were paying much attention though. Hinata had a small, happy smile as she looked at the blond from the shadows, happy that something good has happened to him. Sakura was still not believing a word of it, flicking her hair she stared out the window until class really started. One person, however, was livid. Sasuke was absolutely seething at the idea that the Dobe found a family member. He had absolutely no hope of ever finding family like that. Thanks to … that man... they were all dead. Why was it that the loser was allowed to have someone when he himself was all alone? The raven haired boy rested his head on his laced fingers, giving the happy blond a dark glare, his heart green with jealously.

At that moment, Natsumi could be found training in an abandoned training ground, running through some advanced kata's. She had started training after the episode in front of the memorial stone, promising to be strong enough to protect her best friend's counter-parts and everybody else in the village that was so much like the one she used to lead, but yet was not. Of course, she took a small break for a few days when Naruto was staying with her, but now that he was at the academy she could go all out.

It had been slow going in the beginning, it seemed that ageing seven years in one go was not the best idea for one's muscles and she had lost all of her muscle memory from a lifetime worth of training. Breasts and hips were suddenly in the way when they never were before, her arms and legs were longer meaning she had to adjust some of her stances and train through all of her combo's again, making sure every move flowed together and ensuring that she does not fall over her own feet in the middle of a fight.

Sweat dripped down the determined young woman's face as she moved through the set again and again, a few hundred clones going through similar stances around her. She had been abusing her large chakra reserves and the training trick to a point that she had never done before and was definitely not looking forward to the memory accumulation she would experience soon. As great as the advantages were training a hundred times longer in the span of a normal day, the headache and exhaustion that followed was quite a big enough draw back for most people to never want to use the technique, even if they had the reserves to be able to pull it off.

She could, however, feel herself improving. Her clones were progressing quite well with the jutsu scrolls that she had collected from the library. They were pretty small techniques but she already had a few plans to incorporate them into her normal fighting style. If it worked, her style would be something to fear...

Natsumi was going through a particularly difficult pattern when a pigeon arrived, summoning her to the Hokage. The red head cursed softly. She hated being interrupted when she was training; and the only man who knew how much she had to get stronger... why summon her now? Plus, how in kami's name did these stupid birds always know where she was... even between hundreds of clones?

Natsumi barged through the doors of the Hokage's office, ignoring the seething secretary running after her.

"There had better be a good reason for this, Sandaime." the time travelling Rokudaime stated in a low voice. The secretary was almost having a fit at how disrespectful she was being but Natsumi really could not care less.

Hiruzen took in the scene, having a slight sense of deja-vu. There used to be another red-head Uzumaki woman that hated being interrupted... Like mother like daughter he supposed.

"Ah, Natsumi-chan. I'm glad to see you got the message." He stated with a diplomatic voice, sending the secretary out. "I summoned you for more than one reason, Natsumi. I understand that you hate being interrupted when training but there are a few things that need to be sorted out still." The old man took a deep drag of his pipe before continuing in an almost dismissive tone."The Council meeting has been set for next week Tuesday."

The Uzumaki stilled at hearing that,then moving her weight to one leg and crossing her arms. "Why so far away? I know you have the power to call for one straight away."

"Yes, that is true." Hiruzen replied, still puffing away. However, we do not wish to draw attention to you and summoning all the members that happen to be outside of the village just for this matter will certainly draw more attention than we would like."

"It is going to draw attention no mater what strategy you use, Hiruzen. These people hate jinchuuriki."

"True, but I believe that we could soften the blow slightly with some clever word play."

"Fine." Natsumi replied in a dismissive tone. One week wasn't too bad. "What else did you summon me for?"

The old man looked at her for a few seconds before stating the second reason he had summoned her."I believe it is time for you to start going on missions."

"WHAT?" Natsumi yelled. A mission? Right now? True she loved missions when she was younger but at the moment she really had to train. This was going to interrupt everything.

"If you are going to adopt Naruto-kun you are going to need money. Also you need to integrate yourself into the ranks. If you want to make a change, the other shinobi are going to have to know you personally. You are also meant to be a normal jōnin." The Sandaime looked her in the eye, "It is your duty to serve the village."

Natsumi's eye was twitching as she tried to keep her voice level. "Yes, it is my duty to serve, but I think I can do a better job by training and getting stronger so that we can face the enemies that are coming our way."

"I always found that shinobi grow stronger on the battlefield than they do on a training ground."

"Hiruzen..."

"This is not up for discussion, Uzumaki." The Sarutobi stipulated with a stern voice. "Report here at six hundred hours tomorrow to receive the mission and meet your team. Dismissed."

The next morning Natsumi started getting ready for her mission at five. She had a nice warm shower, dressed in her usual ninja outfit, tied her hair extra securely, had a quick breakfast and picked up her supplies before leaving through the window. She had not been on a mission in years. Before the war she had basically just trained. First with the toads and then with Bee. It would be an interesting experience... She wondered who her team was going to be... Who did she know that was around her age in this timeline?

She arrived at the Hokage's office a few minutes early.

"Good morning, Natsumi-chan" The Hokage greeted her tiredly from behind his desk. Natsumi studied him a bit before replying. He had dark shadows under his eyes and the lines on his face were deepening. The knowledge of the future must really be weighing down on the man. He had a village to protect from an apocolypse after all... It was not an easy amount of strain to take on.

"Morning, Sandaime-sama... " She greeted back, "You look like crap old man, You really should start looking for a successor."

The old man chuckled at her direct comment. It really was quite refreshing to have someone that tells you when you look like the dead. "Ahh, but the village does not have a candidate right now Natsumi-chan... Unless you would like to take the reigns, Rokudaime?"

Natsumi simply laughed, "And take over that paperwork? No thank you... Also, you know that it is not my place to become Hokage... I have already had my reign. This is Naruto's turn."

The Sandaime smiled at the red head, nodding his head. "Somehow I knew you would say that...Nevertheless, I will be sending you to find Tsunade in a few weeks time... You said you got her to return once, you are going to have to do it again."

"Hai," Natsumi replied, with a devious grin, "I already have somewhat of a plan to get Tsunade-Baasan here..."

Hiruzen chuckled again. This red head was definitely helping him relax a bit.

A moment later the three other Ninja that would make up her team arrived, each eyeing Natsumi with curiosity. They seemed to be a little annoyed with getting a new team mate. Especially one that they had never heard about. Meanwhile Natsumi was trying her best to keep a blank expression. She may not have known these specific shinobi very well, but she definitely remembered their deaths...

"Anko, Genma, Hyate" Hiruzen addressed the new arrivals, receiving their full attention. "This is your team mate, Uzumaki Natsumi."

The three tokubetsu jōnin turned to look at the strange red head again. Not only had they never heard of her, they had also never seen her before. With hair that colour she would most definitely stand out in a crowd.

"Um, Nice to meet you." She greeted them, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly as she grinned at her team mates.

Genma was the first to step forward, grinning while fooling around with the senbon in his mouth. "Nice to meet you, Natsumi-chan." He greeted her with a wink. "Don't think I've seen you around before."

"Ahh... I have been away on a long term mission." She replied with a slight blush on a timid smile. Trying her best to not think about what he looked like sliced in half and bleeding out.

"Uzumaki huh?" Anko walked around her, eyeing her up and down. "Related to the Kyuubi brat by any chance?"

Suddenly Anko was up against the wall, a kunai at her throat and a seething angry Natsumi holding her there, her blue eyes like ice. "WHAT THE HELL, BITCH?" The purple haired woman yelled.

Natsumi simply pushed her against the wall even harder before softly growling at the woman. "What did you call my nephew?" inching her kunai even closer to the snake charmer's neck, ignoring the other two tokubetsu jōnin that were pointing their weapons at her neck.

"Natsumi stand down."

The Sandaime did not say it loudly but the command those three words held were astounding. Natsumi ignored him though, her eyes turning red and her hair going wild she whispered into Anko's ear. "If you ever talk about Naruto like that again I will kill you."

"UZUMAKI!"

Natsumi released the purple haired woman and went back to her spot. Genma and Hyate both eyeing her warily and Anko glaring at her.

Hiruzen simply rubbed his temples warily. "Natsumi is Naruto-kun's aunt. Anko, you know the law, you may not speak about Naruto like that. Also, Natsumi, the next time I order you to stand down I expect you to listen. Is that clear?"

Natsumi crossed her arms while still glaring at Anko, her eyes back to their normal blue state. "Hai, Sandaime-sama."

Anko rubbed her neck as she growled. "Hai, hai."

There was a tense silence before the Hokage continued. "Very well. This is an A rank mission. Hayate will be team leader. Although Natsumi is a full jōnin she has been on a solo mission for too long and needs to get some experience working with a team again. The mission is a simple parcel delivery. The rank is assigned due to the importance of the document being delivered." The old man finished his summary before handing Hayate the mission scroll and the documents to be delivered. "The details to when and where are in that scroll. I expect you all back by nightfall. I also expect you all back in one piece, understood Uzumaki, Mitarashi ?"

"Hai" The reluctant team corused.

"Very well then. Dismissed."

As Natsumi was tree-hopping along with her team to the drop off location she could not help but be a slight bit annoyed with her team mates. She had been given the easiest point in their formation. This was completely reasonable as her team did not know her, she would most likely have done the same thing if she were in their shoes but still, it irked her to be lowered to that position. She knew she could take every single one of her team mates in a fight. She knew she was stronger than them. Natsumi shook her head in irritation as they continued on their path. They really should have some more faith in her.

The time travelling Hokage was so caught up in her thoughts that she only realised too late that they were surrounded. Her irritation with her team mates had also caused her to miss the signal that Genma had given in warning. Silently she cursed herself for her stupidity before the enemies were upon them.

There were eight of them.

Eight jōnin Kumo shinobi.

They were definitely in trouble.

Kumo must really be interested in these documents.

Hayate took a step forward, keeping his katana at hand as he addressed the shinobi. "Greetings, Kumo." He spoke softly, pausing to cough into his hand. "We don't want any trouble here. Allow us to pass without bloodshed."

The Kumo leader laughed as he stepped forward. "Greetings, tree huggers." He greeted, rising his arms in welcome before laughing and letting them fall to his side, grabbing some kunai from his thigh pouch. "You have something that we want. Pass over the documents and there will be no need for a fight."

"I am afraid we can not do that." Hayate replied in his soft voice, readying his katana.

"Well then, We have a problem" The kumo replied with a grin. There was a moment of absolute stillness before everybody jumped to attack.

As Hayate engaged the leader, Natsumi engaged her own enemy. The kumo she was facing was slight, and fast on his feet. He did not have a lot of power behind his punches but he was fast. Natsumi could not get a hold of him. The red head tried to punch him in the face, but her arms, being slightly longer than before were also slightly slower... She missed. Another kumo shinobi attacked her from behind, ready to skewer her with a kunai as she spun around to plant a hook kick to his temple but once again her judgement was off and instead of hitting him with her heel she ended up connecting her calve to his temple, therefore not causing as much damage as she had intended. The shinobi was not even dazed as he stepped forward, slashing his kunai.

In all fairness the Uzumaki did dodge, but she did not take her change in figure into account and was rewarded with a slash across her chest.

This was not going well. Natsumi panicked at her situation. She was not yet fully adjusted to her new body and was now paying for it. She had been training hard but it was not enough. She was weak. She could not even defeat her two enemies... In that moment of panic the fast and sneaky kumo ninja grabbed her hair and placed a kunai at her throat. "Don't move." He whispered into her ear as he yanked at her hair.

Anko, Ganma and Hayate were all in similar positions and it was all her fault. They had realised she was having a rough time facing her two enemies and had tried to help, thereby not paying enough attention to their own enemies.

They had not been prepared for this. If Natsumi had just seen the signal they could have agreed on a plan before hand, but she had been too distracted with her own problems, her mind was not on the mission. She had doomed them all.

The leader laughed as he took in their pitiful positions. "You Konoha dogs are too soft... You did not even put up a fight..." He chuckled, his eyer full with mirth as he looked at Natsumi. "Especially you, tomato... You are positively useless... Konoha truly has fallen if this is what they call jōnin..."

Natsumi's eyes turned red. "What did you just call me?" She growled, causing the man holding her to move the kunai even closer to her jugular.

The man grinned even wider, moving closer. "To...ma...to."

That was it. No one called her a tomato and got away with it. Sending her chakra into her hair Natsumi caused the part of her hair held by her captor to suddenly harden and spike out, impaling the man's hand. The shinobi jerked in pain, loosening the hold on his kunai and giving Natsumi the freedom to bash her forehead into the leader's nose, breaking it. As he reeled back Natsumi spun around, delivering a spinning kick to the man who's hand was, for the time being, attached to her hair. His head snapped to the side and the force of her kick would have sent him flying if he was not attached to her. Then she grabbed her ponytail with her left hand and jerked the man forward, delivering a punch straight to his face. At the same time she thrust out her left leg, executing a perfect back kick right underneath another attacker's chin. Releasing her previous captor's hand from her hair, the Uzumaki leapt backward, performing a flip in mid air, delivering an axe kick to the shinobi that had just attacked her's collar bone, breaking it instantly, along with a few ribs. Using the enemy she had just kicked as a spring board, Natsumi flipped over the enemy behind her, landing in a crouch she sent out a few kunai. One pierced the man holding Anko's hand, causing him to jerk in pain. A Natsumi clone then stabbed said shinobi in the spleen, having been transported there in the form of a transformed kunai thrown by the original.

Anko just stared in shock as Natsumi vanished in a red blur just before another Kumo could get her, appearing right in between Hayate and the man trying to choke the life out of him. Natsumi impacted her foot to the man's chin, sending him into the air where two clones was waiting to kick him back down to he ground, knocking him out..

The last four enemies surrounded her, one leaving a tied up Genma behind in order to help get rid of her. The leader being among them. Natsumi growled at them as they got closer, luring them in before she suddenly span around, allowing her hair to spin out around her, hardening the very tip of her hair causing it to become a formidable slicing weapon. The two less experienced jonin were killed instantly. The leader and one other leapt back just in time only to be ambushed by a waiting Hayate and Genma who had just been freed by Hayate.

Anko was still simply watching in shock as Natsumi stood there, her hair dripping with blood, her eyes fading back into their normal blue. Then a playful grin grew on her face as she walked over to playfully punch Natsumi on the arm. "HA! You have got to come out for a drink with us when this is all done." the purple haired kunoichi stated with a laugh.

The rest of the mission went off without a hitch and before Natsumi knew it she was in one of Konoha's most popular bar's. Surrounded by the other jōnin and tokubetsu jōnin and with a drink in her hand,she could not help but laugh at the way Anko was retelling the story, making her sound like the most useless kunoichi in the beginning and then the most bad ass kunoichi at the end.

"Seriously though, Natsu-chan..." The purple haired kunoichi whined in a slightly slurred voice. "You have to teach me how you do that thing with your hair." Natsumi simply laughed.

"I am sorry, Anko-chan, but a kunoichi has her secrets." The red head replied with a grin, causing Anko to pout before stumbling off to re-tell the story to someone else. Natsumi chuckled at the affair. It had been a really long time since she had any alcohol and it was going to her head quite quickly. A sad smile found was hidden behind her scarf as she thought about the technique. Jiraiya had taught it to her on her three year training trip. She had begged the man to teach it to her after she had seen him use it one time. Using her hair as a weapon was the most awesome thing she could have imagined at that point. It certainly taught ninjas to never grab her hair in a fight...

Natsumi was so lost in thought that she did not even realize that a silver haired ninja had also entered the bar and was looking at her in shock, his one visible eye wide as he took in the scene.

"Kushina nee-chan." He whispered softly before his eye suddenly narrowed into a dangerous glare. In less than a second Natsumi found herself pushed up against the wall, a kunai at her throat and a very angry Kakashi glaring at her with both eyes revealed.

Seeing her old sensei caused her to freeze. The last time she had seen the man he was lying in the mud,a soft smile on his face after he had taken a deadly jutsu for her. His mask had been destroyed, but so had the lower half of his face. The only reason she knew he had been smiling was due to learning how to tell the man's moods with only one eye worth of face to judge from. Seeing that same man right in front of he, alive, holding a kunai to her neck and absolutely livid was not something she was ready to deal with.

"Who the heck are you," He growled, forcing the kunai to nick her neck. "And why in kami's name are you impersonating Uzumaki Kushina?"

**A.N**

**Hope you guys enjoyed that. The fight scene was quite difficult to do... I hope it was alright, please let me know what you thought about it so that I can improve for the next fight scene.**

**Kind Regards**

**Namikaze Kakashi**


	7. Chapter 7

**A past Retold - Chapter 6**

"Who the heck are you?" He growled, forcing the kunai to nick her neck. "And why in kami's name are you impersonating Uzumaki Kushina?"

Natsumi was speechless. She had no idea how to react... She simply remained where she was forced up against the wall, her eyes wide, trying to make sense of what was happening.

"Oi, Kakashi..." Genma drawled as he lazed over. "Why are you attacking my team mate?" The whole bar had basically stopped to have a look at the commotion. Anko was doubled over from laughter, remembering just how Natsumi had her in that position earlier that very same day. "Just don't grab her hair, Hatake." The purple haired kunoichi yelled over, still laughing.

"Let her go, Kakashi." Hayate softly demanded.

Kakashi didn't listen though. "Who. Are. You?" He demanded even more forcefully from Natsumi as she struggled to gain her bearings.

"Uzumaki Natsumi, you masked bastard." She finally gasped "Kushina was my sister." The red head wheezed out, struggling to breath a bit. At this point Genma was pointing a senbon at Kakashi's neck.

"I know you will probably kick my ass for this, Hatake. But let my team mate go."

Kakashi growled, giving Genma one of his best glares over his shoulder, causing the man to back off a bit. It also, however, made the silver haired prodigy realise just how many people were watching them. With a final push he released the red headed Uzumaki. "Kushina's family died in Uzu."

Natsumi rubbed her bruised neck as she desperately thought of a way to tell her story. Pulling her fingers back to look at the slight amount of blood covering them the Uzumaki frowned. Kakashi actually knew her mother and father personally. She would have to tread carefully.

Wiping her hand clean on her pants she raised her blue eyes to Kakashi's mismatched ones. "Kushina thought I had died that day." She said softly, "It was only years later, just before she gave birth to her son that we reunited."

Kakashi stepped forward. He was a head taller than she was, making for an intimidating sight. "How do you know she had a son?"

"I'm her sister you idiot!" The Time traveller yelled, "I was here that night!"

"If you were here why did I not know about you!"

"Why in Kami's name would you care about Kushina's affairs? Who the heck are you!?" Natsumi demanded, jabbing him on the chest with her index finger. She had asked the Sandaime about how they were going to tell Kakashi the story... luckily the Hatake had been given a separate mission the week before Kushina gave birth, one that did not involve looking after the Yondaime's pregnant secret wife. Kakashi had also been incredibly distant those days, after the death of his team mates. It should technically be easy to convince him that he had simply not noticed.

"Hatake Kakashi." he stated softly, a threat behind his words.

Natsumi just raised an eyebrow, like she had no idea why that would be remotely threatening."Oh, so you are the bastard she wanted me to meet so badly then." She countered, her voice neutral.

Kakashi stilled at that. "Nee-chan desperately wanted me to meet the _wonderful_ _"Kashi-kun"_ ." Natsumi mockingly made quotation marks in the air at the last part. "She was quite fond of you, you know." Internally Natsumi was incredibly grateful that her father had mentioned the nick name while reanimated. He had been teasing a red faced Kakashi-sensei at that point, finding it hilarious that _Kashi-kun_ was _Naru-chan's_ sensei.

"She never mentioned you." Kakashi replied with a snarl, a light red dusting on his cheeks almost completely concealed by his mask.

"Because she thought I was dead you dolt." Natsumi looked at Kakashi like he was the stupidest person she had ever had the displeasure of meeting. How was Kakashi-sensei such an ass in this time?

"Well then, why didn't I meet you the day you came to Konoha."

The red head moved her bangs out of her face before replying, as if it was the most troublesome thing to explain things to the man. "You were off on a mission at first, I believe." Then she levelled her cold blue eyes with him. This was going to be below the belt, but it had to be done. "After that you were just too caught up in the memory of your dead team mates to care about my sister or her invitations to come visit."

The Hatake took a step back in shock. "She never mentioned the visit was to meet a sister! It was always just normal ramen invitations!"

"It was supposed to be a surprise you masked bastard!" Natsumi waved her hands in the air like it was the most obvious thing ever. "When you did not come she settled for introducing you after her son was born..." Crossing her arms and shifting her weight to one leg Natsumi gave Kakashi a look with a raised eyebrow, continuing with a huff. "Well, you know how that turned out."

Kakashi was actually shaking with anger at this point. How dare this woman speak to him about Kushina like that? "Where is your proof?" He demanded from the red head.

"What," Now with both hands on her hips she gave him a look that reminded him too much of an incredibly angry Uzumaki Kushina "My hair and resemblance is not enough to convince you that I'm her sister? Fine, go speak to the Hokage, he knows everything."

Kakashi squared his shoulders as he shrug off the unwanted memories."I will do just that. But first tell me where have you been since then? I have never seen you around the village."

Natsumi simply shifted her weight before replying in a calm voice. "Long term mission. Hokage-sama will explain it to you. I only returned a few weeks ago."

"I will be checking up on this with Sandaime-sama." Kakashi replied with the same kind of calm voice, missing the angry flash in the red head's blue eyes he was about to leave before her voice called him back.

"You do that. But before you do, explain to me," she walked up to him, managing to look incredibly intimidating for someone so much shorter than him "Where the hell were you when Kushina's son needed you!?" She demanded, pushing the Hatake with enough power to make him stumble backward a few steps. Murmurs started up again around the crowded bar. Just when it looked like the fight was over, it had started up again."Kushina and her husband treated you like a son and how did you repay them? By leaving their son to the dogs?" Natsumi breathed heavily as she glared at the silver haired man she always respected. She leaned in to whisper in his ear "Minato would turn in his grave if he could see how you have disrespected his legacy." she hissed before storming out the bar and disappearing in a red blur.

There was a moment of silence where everybody stared at the seething copy cat ninja. His eyes had widened when the red head had leaned in to whisper something but they were quickly replaced with the look most people never saw twice.

Sarutobi Hiruzen was finishing up the last of his tedious paperwork for the day. Getting ready to make all the changes the time travelling Rokudaime had basically demanded was no easy task...For example, revamping the academy. The Feudal Lord had to be asked permission, which was probably the most annoying part of the whole process. The strange man could hardly ever make a decision on his own and his advisers were more interested in the capital they would be losing than the survival of one small village, even if it was a ninja village.

After that the instructors would have to be told and a whole new curriculum would have to be derived. He would also have to subtly tell the council that the changes would be taking place, giving them no chance to reject anything... That would probably be just as troublesome as the Feudal Lord...

The ageing professor let out a deep sigh, rubbing at his temples, his elbows resting on his old wooden desk. He knew he was getting way to old to be dealing with any of these annoyances. He would much rather be spending his last few years relaxing with his family... watching his grandson grow up... Hopefully witnessing his youngest son find a woman.

Slowly the old man got to his feet, his joints creaking as he did so. Off in the distance he could hear a commotion but he could deal with that tomorrow... he would bet all of his savings that there would be a report on the incident sitting on his desk in the morning... along with a few more stacks of paperwork. Really, paperwork was to a Hokage as ironing is to a housewife... never-ending and very unrewarding.

The noise grew louder and louder, sprouting a small feeling of dread in the Professor. He had the sudden feeling that his bed was going to have to wait a few more hours...

He could now hear one of the night guards arguing with someone, not allowing the other person to disturb the Hokage... Suddenly the door burst open anyway, an angry silver haired man ignoring the guards attempts to stop him.

"Sandaime-sama!" The elite jonin growled, shoving the poor chuunin guard aside so hard the poor teenager hit the opposite wall with a thud, not getting up from the position he landed in.

"Why are you assaulting my chuunin, Kakashi?" Hiruzen sighed... this was going to lead to even more paperwork... although the chuunin really should have a bit more resistance to blacking out...

"Sandaime-sama, there is an impostor in the village impersonating Uzumaki-Kushina's sister. I tried to confront her but ..."

"Jiji! Kakashi might be...Oh" A new voice interrupted the Hatake, coming from the direction of the window. Natsumi was sitting on the windowsill, letting in the cool night air. The two jonin eyed each other. "Ah,.." The Uzumaki giggled sheepishly, rubbing the back of her neck. "Oops...I'm a bit too late."

A low growling could be heard from where Kakashi was standing, glaring at the time traveller. Sarutobi sighed again, sitting back down on his unforgiving office chair. He was definitely not going to get home any time soon.

"Kakashi" The old man started, his head resting between his hands, elbows once again on the hard desk surface. "Sit down and calm down. Natsumi, come in and close the window."

Kakashi and Natsumi did as they were told. Kakashi in an irritated manner and Natsumi in an almost guilty one. She honestly had hoped it would go better. The old man really did not need any more stress.

"I am going to sort this out quickly. You two can clear up the small details later." He stated softly, looking at them from over his interlaced fingers. "Kakashi," the Hokage's gaze moved over to the man "Natsumi really is Kushina's sister." Holding up his hand to stop the copy ninja from interrupting "She arrived in Konoha just before the Kyuubi attack. Kushina had previously thought her sister had died. After arriving in Konoha, Natsumi and Kushina got along very well despite not really knowing each other. Minato even insisted that Natsumi move in with them, which she then did." The Hokage took a short break from his explanation to take a long drag on his pipe. "During the Kyuubi attack Minato made both his son, Naruto and Kushina's sister, Natsumi, jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi..."

"WHAT!" Kakashi cried out, standing up from his seat.

"Don't interrupt me Hatake!" The Sarutobi bellowed, the authority gained from decades of being a Hokage present in his voice. "Sit back down." He demanded, waiting until the silver haired jonin took his seat again he continued.

"The Uzumaki blood is required to hold the Kyuubi securely. The sheer amount of chakra that the beast has is simply too much for a new born baby and Natsumi was too old for her chakra paths to stretch enough to accompany the surge in power. After the attack Natsumi had to leave the village. She was unstable and in essence, was a danger to the village. She left with Jiraiya that very night to gain control of the Kyuubi and train to become a kunoichi."

At this, Natsumi squirmed in her seat. Secretly the Sandaime was quite impressed with her acting skills. The current Naruto would be sitting there fidgeting and looking out the window, looking suspicious as he listened to the lies being told, but Natsumi lowered her head at just the right moment, giving the impression of grief from losing her sister. Brushed the back of her head sheepishly as if remembering how Minato accepted her into the family. Squirming in her seat when he mentioned her leaving, as if she were ashamed for having to leave her nephew behind, all alone. Undoubtedly, she had the skills needed to be a good Hokage. It really was a shame she would not accept the mantle... Sarutobi sighed mentally before finishing up his explanation.

"Since then she has trained and gathered information outside the village until a few weeks ago when a mission went south and she was teleported here by accident, landing in the training fields, where you, Kakashi, found her and brought her to the hospital."

At this both Jonin's eyes widened. Natsumi looked over to Kakashi to see him looking back at her. She had no idea that he was the one who had found her... She really should do something to thank him for that...

Kakashi was simply stunned. Not only was this woman related to Kushina, she was also a jinchuuriki... and she had moved in with Minato-sensei... While Minato had often offered the spare room to him, Kakashi had never taken him up on it... Thinking back now, he really should have... "_I am not jealous..._" He thought, not even convincing himself properly.

Hiruzen watched the two other people in his office silently staring at each other. They were both amazing shinobi. Hiruzen had watched Natsumi during one of her more intense training sessions and he knew exactly what Kakashi was capable of... Together the two of them would make a formidable team... The Pofessor grinned mischievously as a plan formed... This would work perfectly...

"Now, Kakashi." Hiruzen drew both the jonin's attention again. "The fact that Natsumi in a jinchuuriki is an S class secret, just like Naruto. The only difference is that the council does not yet know about her... They will, however be informed at the meeting on Tuesday." Adopting a serious expression the man continued. "The reason I have told you about Natsumi is because the council will probably insist that a sharingan user is kept close to her for extra security. Therefore, starting next week, the two of you will be mission partners indefinitely..."

"WHAT!" Natsumi jumped to her feet, her hair wild and her eyes red. "I have FULL control of Kurama! You can't...!"

"I can, Natsumi-chan," The Sarutobi interjected, his _"Hokage voice"_ once again in play, "and I will, because I believe it is a good plan. I do not thing the council will allow you out of the village otherwise...Do you really want to be imprisoned here for the rest of your life?" He asked her with a raised eyebrow.

"Sandaime-sama..." The red head murmured, the strength leaving her body. She knew that the old man had a plan behind all of this, and she realised that it would ease the council's distrust of her... but still... she was not sure how to deal with this younger Kakashi.

Kakashi had just squared his shoulders before speaking. "I refuse to have a mission partner."

"So help me Kami I will set you to be Gai's permanent partner..."

"SANDAIME!" Kakashi exclaimed.

"The matter is closed. I suggest the two of you get to know each other over the next few days. You will be leaving on missions after the meeting on Tuesday. You are both dismissed."

"But.."

"DISMISSED!"

"Hai, Sandaime-sama..."

As soon as they left the Hokage tower the two jonin split up without a word, disappearing in silver and red blurs respectively. Natsumi headed straight home. It was a long day and she was tired... all she wanted right now was to pass out.

The next day Natsumi went about her usual schedule. She went to the training grounds, created about a thousand clones and set about training. Half of her clones were practising the techniques from numerous scrolls, the other half were stationed around Natsumi, awaiting their orders.

"OK guys listen up!" The original commanded her left over clones, "I need to get stronger faster. The half of you here with me are going to attack me in groups ranging from three to ten. I expect you to go all out... the last mission went south because of me... I need to make sure that it does not happen again. Do not attack in your groups until the previous group is completely dispersed. Use the intelligence gained from the previous clones to fight me better... Understood?"

"HAI!" Her clones bellowed back enthusiastically. They always seemed to love beating up the original.

"OK then, Start!"

A few hours later Natsumi was bruised, bleeding and exhausted... She had trained a lot harder than usual and her clones had definitely not gone easy on her.

Slowly the red head sat down on the grassy training grounds, taking a deep breath to calm herself and closing her eyes. With a look of distinct concentration she started dispersing the clones that were still training the various techniques from the library scrolls one by one, making sure to process every single clone's memories individually. This manner of dispersing clones took a lot more time, but it also helped her sort through the memory transfer a lot more efficiently.

When the last clone popped and her memories successfully transferred Natsumi was completely drained. Slowly she peeked through her eyelashes, taking in the sun's position with her weary half lidded eyes. She was going to be late if she did not get moving soon...

With a quick shrug of her shoulders and a slight shake of her head she stood up and attempted to brush the dirt and blood off her body. It did not work very well. She took in her appearance with a frown, before sighing and completing a few hand signs. A puff of smoke later she was standing there looking like she had never trained in the first place. With a satisfied smirk she walked off to her destination, not once noticing that another ninja had been watching her the whole day. Then again, this particular ninja was a very well known assassin and knew exactly how to remain unnoticed.

Kakashi was annoyed and confused. The Uzumaki woman had been training the whole day. Not just training but training herself to the ground with a determination he had never seen before in a fellow shinobi.

Sure, some shinobi trained hard, like Gai... but this was something different. The woman just kept on going no matter how many times her clones beat her up... Also, she was using an insanely high level technique, Kage-bunshin... like it was nothing... and she was using them to learn really low level techniques. Ones she should have learnt as a genin. Simple party tricks almost... Of course, it was always useful to know a lot of techniques but the one she had been focussing on the most was to generate a small shock at her fingertips. _SMALL_ being the key word here. Often her clones would get incredibly upset if the shock created was too strong...He wondered what she was going to use it for...

He was quite amazed at how long she had stuck it out, sparring with random groups of clones. Clones that were definitely not taking it easy on her. They were attacking as they would attack an enemy, drawing blood quite often, but the kunoichi simply ignored the wounds and kept on going... He supposed that the kyuubi was helping her heal but it was still rather reckless. They had a mission in a few days and here she was training herself to the ground. She had better not get some sort of injury and hold him back from completing missions...

After her sparring training the Uzumaki went into a meditative position, slowly dispersing the remaining clones with a look of intense concentration on her face. Her shoulders sagging a bit more with every other clone that popped... He did not understand how she could take the strain of their exhaustion on top of her own but she did it... Once again he supposed the beast within her allowed her body to handle the strain. No normal human would have been able to do something like that.

The henge she executed at the end of the training session was a bit strange. Sure, she looked like the dead but there was no need to hide it in a ninja village. He followed her as she headed off, having assumed that she was going to head home for a shower or go get something to eat. He was rather surprised though when she stopped outside the academy building, taking a seat on the swing. What was she doing here?

A few moments later a bell rang and children came running out the doors, finally freed from the prison like academy classrooms. Kakashi watched, intrigued as the Uzumaki woman eye smiled, standing up from her seat on the swing. Kakashi frowned, taking in the odd smile but forgetting about it soon after. A few moments later a hyperactive blond boy ran up to the red head, giving her a tight hug around her waist, not noticing the slight wince the woman gave as he aggravated some of her hidden wounds.

The woman chuckled, ruffling his hair as she asked him how his day was. With the brightest smile the silver haired jonin had ever seen, the small boy went about explaining his day. How the classes were boring and his classmates were annoying and how he was going to be strong and become the Hokage, how he was going to protect his aunt in the future... The red head stilled a bit at that; it was only for the fraction of a second and the child did not seem to notice as he went about telling the Uzumaki woman about his day.

It was only then that Kakashi looked at the blond properly. Sure he had known exactly who the brat was when he had come running out of the academy towards his aunt, but he had purposefully avoided looking at the boy properly...

He looked just like his father. Blond hair and bright blue eyes... His infectious laugh and loud voice however was just like his mother. It was hard to take in, seeing Minato-sensei and Kushina nee-chan within him, but knowing that they were both dead. His eyes hardened as he looked at the boy. Why did the brat have to look so much like Sensei? It was cruel... Every time he looked at the child all he could see was the boy's father. Kakashi could not take it any more, he left the red head and her blond nephew to their own devices and headed toward the memorial stone.

He stood there for a few minutes, staring at the black stone with his jaw tensed, reading Minato and Kushina's names over and over again. Remembering what it was like when they were still alive...

Then, squaring his shoulders he smiled the very same eye smile Natsumi had smiled earlier. "So, Sensei, Obito, Rin, Kushina Nee-chan... Sorry I'm late..." He addressed his precious people, his hands in his pockets, his posture slouched. "I was on my way here when I got distracted by a strange red vixen sitting on a swing..."

**A.N **

**Hey Guys... I know it's late and I apologize... it has been a hectic few weeks and I had to format my laptop... Yeah I'm sorry**

**THANK YOU SO MUCH TO MY REVIEWERS! YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME... AMAZING... WONDERFUL...**

**I hope the chapter was ok, it has been the hardest chapter to write so far... Please, if you can, let me know what worked and what did not work with the chapter, so that i can try improve for the next chapter.**

**Kind Regards**

**Namikaze Kakashi**


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